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spoon-writes · 1 year

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Ends of the Earth | Chapter 29

Fandom: The Mandalorian

Pairing: Mando x OC

Read on FFN or AO3

Summary: When Sinead's husband is ripped from her, she escapes the Hutt Empire and goes on a quest to find him. Since being a runaway slave in the Outer Rim isn't exactly easy, she makes the Mandalorian an offer he can't refuse, and soon they travel across the galaxy looking for her missing husband.

Chapter index

Chapter 29 - Legend of the Lost

Sinead opened her eyes and regretted it immediately. The cave was filled with sunlight that seared into her brain, which already felt like it had been dragged across a gravel path. Her lungs were tight, making it difficult to breathe. She let out a pathetic groan and pulled the blanket over her head.

One after one, the memories from the day before slotted into place. There had been something in the air … she furrowed her brows and forced herself to breathe slowly despite the discomfort. Mando had found her and dragged her to safety.

She placed a hand on her sternum. It suddenly dawned on her that she was wrapped in Mando’s cloak. It smelled unmistakably of him, like metal and blaster fire. Unconsciously, she breathed a little deeper.

"Sinead?"

She pulled the cloak from her head. Mando stood at the opening of the cave, turning a round object over and over in his hands.

She sat up with a grunt, wincing as her whole body protested against ... everything. She had slept on the cold, hard ground before but it was the first time it had left her feeling like she'd taken a tumble down a flight of stairs. "I'm up."

"How're you feeling?"

"Like I just went three rounds against a mudhorn.”

"Mhm. You should eat something." He gestured to a ration bar lying beside the now extinguished fire, and Sinead made a big show of picking it up and shoving it into her mouth. It had the taste and consistency of old rubber but it did make her feel a bit better.

When she was done eating, Mando handed her a flight helmet that had seen better days; the red paint that covered the plastoid was chipped and scarred and a small crack ran down the visor. "Where did you find this?"

"There's a crashed ship down the mountain," Mando said. "It's air-tight, I checked."

"Great. Not really itching to get poisoned again. Once was more than enough." It ended on a croak and Sinead cleared her throat. Her lungs spasmed, sending her into a coughing fit that shot pain through her chest.

Two hands on her shoulders kept her from keeling over, and she was vaguely aware of Mando saying her name. When the coughing fit ceased, she looked at Mando through watery eyes. “M’ okay.”

“We’re going back to the village.” Mando’s voice was strained. “They can deal with this.” His left thumb rubbed soothing circles into her shoulder.

Sinead sucked in a breath. “No, really, I’m okay.” It wasn’t a lie. It felt like the coughing fit had removed whatever it was that had restricted her lungs. “We’ve come too far to turn back, besides we need fuel to get off the planet.”

Mando suddenly became aware that he was still touching her and his hands fell from her shoulders. He stood abruptly and stepped back to the cave’s opening, giving her some air.

She schooled her face into a neutral expression while she got to her feet. The cave spun and she swallowed, fixing her gaze on a patch of moss growing on the rocky wall. Her stomach flipped once before she found equilibrium.

Wordlessly, Mando handed her a canteen and she drank until it was empty. The cold water cleared her head, and when she bent down to retrieve the cloak, she almost felt like before.

She handed the cloak back to Mando. "Thank you for this, and for ... yesterday. Couldn't have been easy getting out of there." She pushed down the image of Kyen, dead and cold.

Mando cleared his throat. "Yeah." He turned his head towards the mouth of the cave. “If you’re really sure you want to go on, we should get moving. I don’t want to spend another night out here.”

She looked out at the gently swaying trees just outside the cave. Somewhere on the other side of the valley the kid was waiting for them. “Yeah, just give me a second.”

A few meters from the cave there was an ancient fallen tree. The rotten wood dipped when she sat and started to pick at her dirty braid. Most of the hair had escaped during her adventure in the woods, and underway she untangled dead leaves, clumps of dirt, a beetle.

“Your hair is too long.”

Sinead glanced up at Mando, squinting against the violently blue sky. She was halfway done with braiding her hair around her head to make it fit inside the helmet. “Excuse me for not taking hair advice from someone who always wears a helmet. For all I know you could be bald under there.”

He didn’t seem perturbed leaning against the side of the cave entrance. “It’s too easy to grab in a fight.”

“Well I like my hair no matter how grabbable it is.”

His shoulder lifted in a half-shrug. “Suit yourself.”

Once she finished she slipped the helmet over her head. It let out a whir as the vacuum seal closed around her neck. The vivid green of the forest was muted through the visor but it beat getting a face full of poison. Her head felt strangely heavy, the sound of her breathing amplified in the small space.

"Does it fit?"

"I'll get used to it. Where did you say you found it again?"

"Down the mountain there's a ship. It's been here for a while, I almost missed it."

"You think that could be responsible for the toxins?"

"Don't think so. It’s overgrown, it has been here for too long.”

"I guess we just have to go and look around," Sinead looked up at the tree crown where slivers of blue sky were visible.

"If you start feeling anything off, we head back. Don't take any chances."

Despite the mild weather, a chill went up Sinead's spine. "Don't worry. If I see any ghostly figures you'll be the first to know.” She stood and was about to brush her pants for any errant moss or bark when she froze. Her hand hovered over the spot where the whip should have been.

What happened yesterday? She tried to think back but panic made her brain reel. She’d seen the ghosts, specters, figments of her drugged mind. They’d come closer and she had pulled out the whip. She must have dropped it in the forest.

Somehow she’d managed to lose a priceless Mandalorian artifact—one of its kind—and it would take months, years to find it again.

“Here.”

She looked up. Mando was holding out the whip in front of her.

She took it in numb hands. The metal felt sun-warmed and as always lighter than it should have been. “I thought I lost it.” Relief made her voice wobbly and she cleared her throat. I can’t believe I … thank you.”

Mando shrugged one broad shoulder. “Don’t mention it. We have to go now. If we lose the light before we find the cause, we will go back.” His voice brokered no argument and Sinead didn’t want to spend another night out here even if her life depended on it, so she just gave him a nod.

The trek down the mountain didn't take long. The forest was not as dense here and they followed an animal track until the ground evened out and they were back in the valley. Sinead scanned the dark trees. It felt like she was watching everything through a screen, the sounds and smells dulled by the helmet. Was this how Mando felt? Separated from the world by a layer of beskar, never really being able to touch, feel.

The forest was barely any brighter in the daylight, the leaves twisted to catch the sunshine, casting the ground in shadows. There were no movements. No eyes in the trees, no specters appearing out of the mist. No Kyen.

It was strange walking through the forest again. It felt so far removed from the dark labyrinth from the night before. She almost expected to see translucent shapes reach out, and she tried to suppress a shudder.

"See anything?" Mando said.

"Ghosts or their cause?"

"Both."

"Nothing yet. I'll keep you posted."

By the time they found the facility, Sinead barely noticed her lungs hurting anymore.

In a hollow in the ground, close to the center of the valley, sat a collection of large square buildings looking like they'd been poured directly from a cement mixer, and surrounded by a tall fence. The forest had started to reclaim the buildings, trees and shrubs growing through the fence and shooting through the concrete paths going from building to building. They were bare, without windows, except the biggest one that stood in the center. A large hexagon separated into six parts had been painted on the side. The sight sparked a long forgotten memory.

"I've seen that before," she said and pointed to the symbol. "A mechanic who worked on my parents' cargo ship for a little while. He had that tattooed on his shoulder. Said he worked in a shipyard on Antar 4." She had loved listening to his stories about fighting against the oppressors. It had sounded like a fairy tale. "Most of the Separatists were either killed or joined the Empire years ago."

"It's probably a holdout from the war," Mando said. "If they were trying to make some kind of biological weapon."

"And what? The Lost decided that now was the time to test it?"

Mando shrugged. "Let's go down and take a look."

The buildings were a lot bigger than Sinead first thought. Not tall but just ... large. They took up too much space until it felt like she was looking at a realistic hologram instead of the real thing. They didn't fit out here in the old forest. Like a grey wound in a sea of green.

It didn't take long to find a place where the fence had been pushed down by the foliage, and they climbed across and into the silent hollow.

A commando droid lay slumped against one of the buildings, weeds growing through holes in its chassis. Sinead stopped. “How long do you think it’s been there?”

"I don't know. A long time. Keep your eyes out for more."

The unnatural silence of the forest seemed magnified between the concrete walls, bouncing back and forth until the air was thick with the absence of sound.

"Do you see any doors?" She circled a smaller building and found the pockmarked concrete without even a window to squeeze through. "They must be connected through a tunnel underground. Fewer entrances to guard, I suppose." Not that it saved them in the long run.

"Over here!" Mando shouted, and Sinead rounded the corner to find him standing in front of a blast door set into the biggest building. There were more broken droids here in a half circle around the door and faded scorch marks on the concrete wall. No one had bothered picking them up when they fell.

Mando examined the wall all around the door while Sinead ran her fingers across the control panel which required a code, but even if they'd known it, there was a blaster hole right through the keypad. Whatever was in there the Separatists didn't want to risk anyone finding it.

"Depending on how thick the wall is," Mando said, "a couple of blast charges could knock the door loose, but it'll make a lot of noise."

"I doubt these guys'll mind." Sinead gestured to the broken droids around them.

"Mhm." Mando rolled his shoulders in irritation. "It'll be safer going in quiet."

"I don't think anyone's home after 20 years."

"That's not what I'm worried about. The entire building could fall on our heads."

Sinead jabbed the one remaining button on the keypad; predictably, nothing happened. "Do we have another option if we wanna get inside."

With a sigh, Mando pulled out two thermal detonators and attached them to the wall close to the door, while Sinead picked her way across the battlefield out of the radius of the blast. Mando followed, stomping through the broken droids. Once they were both a safe distance away, he activated the detonators. The boom tore through the silence, the explosion itself leaving a burning white scar across Sinead’s vision. She felt the blast deep in her bones, even though the helmet protected her from the worst of it.

The smoke cleared and revealed the door still stood although there were deep cracks in the concrete wall. A large piece broke off and clattered to the ground. Sinead adjusted the helmet. "Well, it's still standing."

"I think we can push it over. C'mon."

The blast had caught a droid and ripped it from its weedy grave, laying its blaster-riddled body bare for them to see. It still clutched a powerful blaster rifle in its rusty hands. Sinead prodded it with the tip of her boot. "You know, I'm glad we missed this particular party."

Mando didn't reply or look at the droid; he went back to the door and rammed against it with his shoulder. "Help me with this."

They pushed against the door until the wall was crumbling and pieces of concrete pinged off her helmet. With one final shove, the door fell and landed on the ground with a crash that rivaled the explosion. Clouds of dust whirled into the air, illuminated by the sunlight that streamed into the room for the first time in years. There was a set of stairs in the middle of the room, disappearing down into the dark.

"If anyone's down there they've definitely heard us by now."

“If anyone’s down there they probably already know we’re here.” He scanned the quiet buildings. “This place is too secure not to have security cams.”

“Oh, that’s …” A shiver went down Sinead’s spine. “I didn’t think of that.” She’d had enough of hidden eyes watching her.

Mando made his way across the uneven door, concrete rubble crunching under his feet, and shone a light down into the darkness. Something glittered in the air.

A thick layer of dust stifled their footsteps and the air smelled stale even through the helmet's atmospheric processor. There was something besides dust that hung in the air, clinging to Sinead’s exposed hands.

"I don't think anyone's been down here for a long time," Sinead said.

"Somebody released the toxin."

"What are the chances that there's another top secret facility hidden somewhere in the forest?"

"Small."

The beam of light revealed that they had reached the bottom of the staircase and found themselves in front of another blast door with black scorch marks and an intact keypad. A droid lay crumbled on the floor and Mando kicked it aside.

"It's too risky setting off another explosion down here." He gave the door an experimental push. "We'll get buried alive."

Sinead ran a hand over the keypad, pressing a random number. A little red light turned on. “Well, there’s still power. If we get the code somehow …”

Mando made a sound and the light disappeared as he inspected the wall around the blast door, leaving Sinead in near darkness. She pursed her lips and looked down when her eyes fell on the dark outline of the droid. She crouched down. “Hey, Mando, can you give me some light?”

Mando turned and the droid was illuminated; it was long-limbed and sleek-looking and fortunately just as lifeless as its mates getting reclaimed by the forest.

“I think I’ve seen one of these before. A cargo runner my parents did business with who had one of these reprogrammed. It’s a commando droid,” Sinead said.

“Mhm,” Mando said in a tone of voice that suggested the less he knew about it the better. She tried shooting him an apologetic look, but the light source on his helmet made him hard to see.

“What are you doing?”

She had found the droid’s wrist and prodded around with her fingertips, tongue held between her teeth. “I’m trying to get to this—” A small metal rod extended from its wrist—” scomp link.” After wiggling it back and forth it broke away with a clang. “Keep the light on the keypad, please.”

"Does it even still work?" Mando's voice was full of doubt but he still obliged, stepping back and craned his head to illuminate the keypad.

"It should," Sinead said, slipping the scomp into the port, slowly turning it between her fingers. "Unless there's a sort of ... life-check built into the system to make sure that the droid is online. But why should there be?"

"So this exact thing doesn't happen."

"Shush now." She closed her eyes to concentrate, feeling the metal warming up in her hands, waiting for the mechanism to catch. She could feel Mando behind her, impatient and skeptical.

She felt more than heard a click. The door slid open with a grating whine and a cloud of mist rolled into the decontamination chamber. Sinead's breath hitched and she reflectively lifted her hand to slap it across her mouth, but her fingers bumped against the helmet. She held her breath as the mist pressed against the vizor, eyes wide, looking for even a glimpse of a white translucent specter.

"How're you feeling? Is the helmet holding up?" Mando's voice sounded anxious beside her.

"Yeah, I think so. We'd know by now, wouldn't we?" She lifted a hand and watched as the mist swirled in the current. If she looked closely she could see it was made by particles small enough to be carried in the air.

"This is what I saw in the forest ... something must have happened down here."

Sinead swallowed and lowered her hand. "Let's find out what."

The mist swirled when they entered the chamber.

Red warning lights blinked out a constant rhythm, making the shadows move and twist, but thankfully there was no blaring alarm. The facility was eerily silent just like the forest, and the slowly moving mist made everything seem unreal; their entrance had disturbed it, but even on the opposite side of the room the mist seemed to move by its own accord, rising or falling in an indecipherable pattern. The room itself was in disarray with signs of fighting, datapads and flimsi strewn across the floor. A broken phosphotube dangled from the ceiling by a single cord.

An open door led into a red-lit corridor that branched off into smaller rooms filled with barely visible lab equipment. The toxin was everywhere, billowing silently across the floor in great big plumes, sometimes so thickly that Sinead had to squint to see Mando beside her. She could feel his presence though, brushing up against her side.

"Do you think anyone could survive down here?" She asked.

"No." Mando touched her shoulder. "Look."

Something white was lying across the corridor floor, and Sinead's heart seized for one terrifying moment, hand flying to the vacuum seal around her neck but it still seemed to be holding tight. Whatever it was, it wasn't one of the Lost.

The mist cleared a little and they both stopped in their tracks.

"Is that a-"

"Stormtrooper." Mando bent down to get a better look at the body; the helmet was gone revealing leathery skin pulled tight over the skull but the white plastoid plates were unmistakable. The warm dry air had mummified him. His face seemed to move in the blinking red light, empty eye-sockets suddenly staring straight into Sinead's eyes. "I don't see any wounds. He must've lost his helmet."

Sinead swallowed and doublechecked the seal on her own helmet. "At least there are two blast doors between the toxin and the outside world."

Mando got to his feet with a grunt. "One door. We broke one, remember?"

"Let's hope one is enough."

The corridor ended in another blast door that had closed on a hapless droid. Mist billowed out of the resulting gap, obscuring the wall and Sinead had to fumble her way to the control panel. When the door slid open it was like being submerged in murky water.

They moved into the room beyond. Strange contraptions appeared from the mist like icebergs, machines with tubes running from the ceiling, tables strewn with beakers filled with mystery liquids. The battle had reached this room too; two Stormtroopers lay dead on the floor with blaster holes in their chest, and there were even more broken droids. On one desk, a beaker had tipped over and the contents had melted a deep hole all the way down to the floor. Another one stood precariously close to the edge. Somehow it hadn’t evaporated in however many years since the lab was abandoned.

Sinead stopped in front of a large container where one of the purple flowers was suspended in transparent liquid, fed by four different tubes coming down from the ceiling.

"Sinead," Mando said, and she turned to see him standing by the far wall. The mist had dispersed enough to see a giant window with a large crack running down the middle. The chamber behind was massive, circular with a catwalk running all the way around the edge. In the center stood four large vats, two of which were filled with poison, the other two were nothing more than warped metal. It looked like they had been caught in some kind of explosion. The same blast had ripped part of the catwalk from the wall. That answered the question of why the facility was full of toxins.

"Hey, look ..." She had reached a control panel at the center of the room. A corpse lay slumped over a console. At first she thought they had died like the Stormtrooper and that the air had mummified them, but as she looked closer she saw a breathing mask affixed over their mouth and nose, and there was a charred hole in their back, probably from a blaster round. They were human, or near-human, but death had erased all other identifiers?

Sinead was about to turn away when she spotted something under the corpse. She took a stabilizing breath before grabbing their shoulder. The skin beneath the grey shirt was at once firm and unpleasantly pliant, and the corpse slid off the console with a leathery whisper, revealing a screen.

"Trial event set to ten thousand three hundred seventy-one days," she read aloud as Mando joined her. "Countdown ... zero."

"Can you stop it?"

"Hmm ... maybe. If we can reset it somehow that'll still give us ten thousand odd days to figure out a more permanent solution. Wish Jami was here." She chewed on her lower lip and examined the control panel, finding two similar levers on opposite ends just out of reach. "Let's try this one. We have to turn the levers at the same time."

Mando took up station and waited for her count.

"Alright." Sinead grabbed the lever. "On three. One. Two. Three!" They yanked down on the levers and the machine gave a short, high-pitched beep before the screen scrubbed itself clean and the countdown reverted back to 10.371.

"Do you think it worked?" She asked after a couple of seconds of silence. "This seems a little too ... easy."

"You think this was easy? You got poisoned! You could've died." Mando shot her a look that endeavored to be exasperated even through his helmet and the mist.

"You know what I mean. An entire village fled to the mountains and all we had to do was press a couple of buttons." Her hand bumped against her helmet as she tried to push a lock of sweaty hair out of her eyes. "Why do you think they set the trial so far out in the future?"

Mando shrugged. "Could be an accident when the facility was attacked. It doesn't matter now."

"I guess it doesn't." She glanced around the darkened lab at the machinery that took on strange shapes half obscured by the mist. "Let's head back to the villagers. Who knows how long we've been down here." Without natural light it was hard to tell.

"We've already wasted too much time here. We should've been on the way to Celvalara by now." Mando took a step back and nearly disappeared in the mist.

An image of Kyen, cold and dead, flashed across her mind. "Yeah.” The dark lab, not exactly the most hospitable place in the first place, grew even more foreboding. She rested a clammy hand on the grip of her blaster.

Small pinpricks of light shone through the mist from the various machines still somehow functional after all those years.

The lights moved.

“What the—” a metal hand shot out of the mist and closed around her arm. Before Sinead had time to react, she slammed into a table, sending datapads and beakers crashing to the floor.

She ducked under a whirling metal arm that had enough force behind it to crush her skull, helmet and all, and slid off the table.

A commando droid advanced on her. Its oval face made it uncomfortably humanoid and it moved in a way that was both too fluid for a droid but too deliberate for there to be anything else but wires and silicon behind it.

It lunged and Sinead scrambled out of its way at the last second. She danced backward, keeping it in her line of sight, barely noticing when she hit a large machine.

She caught a glimpse of Mando through the wildly swirling mist, heard the sound of fighting, metal on metal. Just how many droids were down here?

The commando droid sprang for her and Sinead tried dodging but that split-second distraction proved to be too long. Its metal fingers scraped across her helmet sounding like a thunderclap, nearly enough to drown out the pounding in her ears.

The commando droid grabbed her around her neck, but she didn’t even have time to panic before her feet left the ground and she was hurled over a table, crashing to the ground. A rack of vials fell and showered her in glass shards. At least these were empty and not like—

An idea struck her just as the commando droid vaulted the table in one leap. She rolled out of the way, hearing glass crunching as it landed.

Where was the entrance to the lab? The place was hard to navigate when all she had to worry about was the mist and now she had a murderous droid on her heels.

She sprinted down the length of the laboratory, somehow hearing the slight whirr of the droid following. Mando was close by but she didn’t have the wherewithal to find him in the murk.

Something struck her in the middle of the back and sent her sprawling into a table, where a beaker wobbled dangerously close to the edge. She didn’t think, her hand wrapped around cold glass and hurled it at the advancing droid.

The glass smashed against the droid’s head which started to cave in on itself with an impossible sizzling sound like meat hitting a hot pan. No, not caving, but melting away as the acid burned through layers of metal like it was flimsi. Its body tumbled to the floor with a crash.

Had she breathed since the droid first grabbed her? It didn’t feel like it. Her knees buckled and she had to grab the edge of the table to stay upright.

There was a sound of screaming metal. She looked up from the smoking remains of the droid and saw Mando standing, breathing hard. A headless commando droid lay crumpled at his feet, its head still spinning on the floor beside it.

"Are-" Sinead sucked in a deep breath. "Are you okay?"

"Yes," he said, looking down at the droid. "Security."

She winced as she rolled her shoulders. Now that the adrenaline was ebbing she felt every time the droid had hurled her across the room. "They didn't do a great job clearing out the place."

Mando kicked the headless droid out of the way with an angry grunt. "No they—SINEAD!"

Something hard crashed into her. She was pinned to the floor, hands clawing ineffectively against metal. Two round eyes stared down at her. It lifted a clenched fist.

Then her lungs caught fire.

And the world went dark.

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#the mandalorian #the mandalorian x oc #mando x oc #din djarin x oc #din djarin #fanfiction #fic: ends of the earth #oc: sinead

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spoon-writes · 2 years

Text

Ends of the Earth | Chapter 28

Fandom: The Mandalorian

Pairing: Mando x OC

Read on FFN or AO3

Chapter index

Chapter 28 - Haunted

Their guide had stopped just before reaching the base of the mountain and refused to go any further. She gave the coordinates while looking fearfully over Mando's shoulder at the silent forest, and as soon as they knew where to go, she’d turned on her heels and jogged back towards the camp.

As they stepped down from the mountain, what little wildlife had vanished and left the air charged with an eerie thunderous silence. Sinead looked up at the sun glinting through the thick canopy. The path their guide had given led around the village, walking along game trails that wound through the forest, sometimes doubling back on itself until eventually turning towards the center of the woods.

"What do you think it is?" Sinead asked, stepping around a root that had burst out of the ground.

"Don't know."

"C'mon! You don't have any theories at all?"

Mando shrugged. "Not spirits."

"Thank you. That only leaves everything else."

"You really think it's ghosts?" His skepticism came clearly through the voice modulator.

"I don't know what I think it is, but it's not impossible. If there's one thing I've learned is that there are forces beyond me and you. Or do you have a logical explanation for the kid's hand thing?" She wiggled her hand at him and let the silence stretch for a moment. "Didn't think so."

"Could be something in the water."

"I don't think it is." Because then why did she feel like someone was watching them back in the village?

The same purple flowers Sinead had seen shooting up between the undergrowth covered the ground in some spaces, crowding under the trees that seemed to grow taller and taller until they reached the sky. The sweet smell of decaying wood and decomposing leaves filled her nose.

It wasn't until they reached a small clearing and stopped for a break that Sinead realized how cold it had gotten; the sweat on the back of her neck had cooled, and she pulled her jacket back on. High above, the treetops seemed to shift and change, the leaves turning to catch the sunlight regardless of the lack of wind, and the forest floor was left in shadows. They walked on as more flowers grew up around the trees. It took them passing through the same clearing three times before they stopped.

"Uh, Mando?"

"I know. We're walking in circles."

Above, the treetops rustled in a faint breeze.

"I thought you had the coordinates." Something sour and scared sat at the back of Sinead's mouth, forcing the words out before she had a chance to stop. "How can we get lost when you have the coordinates?"

Mando glared at her, and she could feel the heat through his helmet. "Something is messing with the signal. We should've been there by now, but it's like ..."

"Like what?"

He rolled his shoulders and looked away. "Nevermind. We need to find out where we are. Can you climb?"

Her eyes fell on the nearest tree. The branches looked sturdy enough. "Yeah, I think so."

"Good. Find out where the sun is compared to us. If we can't find a way forward, we need to go back. I don't want to be out here when the sun sets."

"Copy that." Suddenly, with the prospect of a task that didn't include mindlessly walking, her mind felt clearer. "Just make sure to catch me if I fall."

"I will."

She glanced at him for half a second before hauling herself up on the lowest branch. It let out a creak but held her weight, and she carefully made her way up the coarse trunk. The branches were sticky with sap, and now and again there was a crackling noise that made her pause and wait with bated breath. She didn't look down. She slowed the further up she got as the branches became thinner. A faint wind rustled the leaves, and slivers of sunlight dabbled across her face. Then she broke through the top layer and her breath caught in her throat.

The forest blanketed the valley like a vast rolling sea bathed in buttery light from the setting sun. Streaks of red and pink tinted the sky, but a nagging thought kept her from being taken entirely by the view.

It was too early for the sun to be setting. How long had they been gone?

She looked down, glimpsing Mando between the leaves, but he was too far away to hear her, and even if he wasn't, it felt wrong to break the silence of the forest. Carefully, she shifted her weight and started the climb back down. The last glimpse of the valley slipped away, and she concentrated on making it down in one piece. As she descended so did the darkness.

Mando waited until she had both feet firmly on the ground before asking. "So?"

"The sun is setting." She brushed her sap-sticky hands on her thighs.

"That's not possible. We've only been walking for a couple of hours."

"I know, but that's what I saw. We should go back to the villagers, try again tomorrow." Now she was back on the ground, she noticed the gloom that had fallen and how the shadows grew darker. "If the sun's this way, we need to go this way." She pointed to the left of Mando. "We probably won't make it back before dark."

Mando made a noise and glanced around at the quiet trees. "You sure it's the right way?"

"Yeah." As she said it, a tiny seed of doubt grew in her mind and sprouted into dread once they started walking. The trees seemed to grow even taller and the air felt damp, making her clothes feel cold against her skin. Moss hung in thick carpets from dead branches. Something moved out of the corner of her eye, but there was nothing when she turned, only flower buds emerging from the deep shadows. Slowly, one of them started to open.

There was a sickly sweet smell on the wind.

Mando stopped before a fallen tree, the trunk almost as wide as Sinead was tall, and turned, hand on the grip of his blaster. "This isn't right."

"I don't know what happened, I was so sure ..." Her eyes darted round for any movement between the trees. More flowers had opened, revealing long purple petals. She jammed a thumb into the crook of her elbow until her fingers twitched and took a deep breath to clear her muddled mind.

"We need to find somewhere safe for the night." Mando's voice was tight. "We'll keep going tomorrow until we get to the mountains, then we can find the way ... wait, do you hear that?"

Sinead turned her head, but the forest was as eerily silent as it had always been. "I don't—"

With a crash, an animal burst through the undergrowth, a blur of legs and gnashing teeth, matted fur that hung in knots down its side. Its eyes were crazed, rooting Sinead to the ground.

Something slammed into her, knocking the wind out of her lungs

The beast opened its mouth and released a blood-curdling scream that shook the silent forest. It thrashed, smashing against a tree until leaves rained down, then bolted in the opposite direction of where it had come from.

Sinead couldn't breathe. She stared wide-eyed at where the beast had appeared, waiting for an eternity with Mando crouched over her. The hand holding his blaster shook imperceptibly.

Slowly he got up and helped Sinead to her feet. The world was still spinning.

"What was that?" It came out in a croak.

Mando didn't take his eyes off the path of destruction the beast had left; broken branches and torn up earth in the direction they were heading. "I don't know."

"It was-" she swallowed hard—" it was crazed with ... with something. Fear, maybe, or hunger?"

Mando moved to where the creature had broken through and peered into the gloom. "I don't think it was being chased."

"Not by anything we can see." She could taste it again, that tangy, sweet taste on the tip of her tongue, a burning sensation at the back of her throat. She coughed. "Konna was right. We should never have come here." Her skin had been stripped away, exposing her nerves to the world and every single sound or change made her heart speed up until she felt it in her fingertips.

"It can't be far now," Mando said. "If we keep walking we're bound to hit the other side." He gestured in the direction the creature had appeared. "Konna said the things couldn't reach up on the mountain."

"Are you crazy? Never go in the direction of-of whatever that was!" It was getting harder to breathe.

Mando rounded on her. "If we start changing course that'll just get us more lost than we already are. There's nothing out there." But even as he said it, Sinead's skin prickled as unseen eyes watched from every shadow. "Stick close to me." He started walking, and for one heart-stopping moment, she was frozen to the ground in fear before running to follow him as closely as she could without stepping on his heels.

It was a struggle to breathe, like the air was too thin. The ground grew soggy as if they had wandered into a hidden marsh that threatened to drag her down if she stopped for even a moment. It was all so wrong! Her vision blurred as tendrils of mist unfurled from behind the trees, reaching out to grab her.

Then she heard it: a howl on the wind that waned and waxed until it reached a crescendo, a single word that made her stop in her tracks.

Sinead!

She recognized the voice who was calling.

"Kyen?" She felt her lips move, but the sound was a warbled echo. There was only Kyen calling her name.

Whatever force holding her in place disappeared, and she stumbled towards the sound. The forest shifted in front of her eyes, trees moving out of her way even though she felt the sting of invisible branches rip her hair and slap her across the face. All thoughts of Mando or getting to safety had been replaced by a single repeating chant: I need to find him, I need to find him, I need to—

The ground disappeared under her feet, world turning into a jumble of shadowy trees and mist as she tumbled down, down, down, ending up with her face pressed into soft and sweet-smelling moss.

As she lay there, breathing through nausea and pain, more voices joined Kyen's call, strange and hollow as if she was hearing them through a damaged comlink, getting louder until they filled the air, drowning out the sound of Sinead's own labored breathing.

She lifted her head and mist filled her eyes, mouth, ears until she choked. Then, scrabbling to her knees, she lifted herself out of the mist that blanketed the hollow. It felt sticky like it was clinging to her even as she got to her feet.

The purple flowers had completely overtaken the hollow, and they had opened in the dusk, revealing wide purple petals with black veins that twisted and writhed in a dizzying pattern.

Her mouth was dry. Why was her mouth dry when everything else was sticky and wrong?

In the haze of the mist, the trees pulsed. The bark changed, swirling across the surface until a thousand eyes stared down at her as she took a shaky step and nearly crumpled to the ground; hot blood ran down her leg from a jagged gash. How did that happen? There was no pain, only a dull pressure that made her leg shake when she put weight on it.

A path opened up before her. With every step, the voices became louder.

Then she saw them.

Translucent shapes appeared between the trees, and a tremor ran through her body. She stumbled and hit the ground. The beings, the Lost reached out to her, mouth hanging slack-jawed while the howl rose to a scream that tore through Sinead's head and burned down her throat, into her chest until she couldn't breathe.

She tried to get up, but the ground had gone soft, trapping her. The apparitions moved closer, and she trashed against the force that held her down. A dull light glinted in their eyes.

Her hand closed around something burning hot, arm spasming by its own accord. The whip cut through the murk. The specters recoiled long enough for her to get to her feet.

"Back! Stay back!" The scream spilled from her lips like burning blood. She clutched the whip to her chest with a shaking hand.

Sinead!

The sound had been so close. Kyen was close!

She ran, lungs burning too fiercely for her to call out. The Lost followed, a cold presence that grabbed at her hair and tried to pull her back. The forest changed all around her, pulsing and twisting. Unblinking eyes stared at her from the shadows.

Sinead!

Her legs burned, but the Lost closed in around her no matter how fast she ran. A scream tore through her throat, but the sound came out dull and faded.

Suddenly the trees parted, and she found him.

Kyen stood bathed in shadow and mist, but she would have known him anywhere; dark curly hair framed a pale face, freckles dusting his cheeks in a familiar pattern that she could pick out in her sleep. He wore the palace garb just like the last time she saw him. The dark red fabric rustled in an invisible wind.

"K ...Kyen?" she reached out to him.

At the sound of her voice, he moved. Sudden icy realization made her heart seize to a halt.

This was wrong. It was all so wrong.

Kyen moved like a puppet on a string. Like a dead man.

She tried to back away, but the Lost had pinned her in. Kyen's hands closed around her upper arms and pulled her to her feet. When had she fallen? His hands were so cold. This close, his skin was grey and smooth as marble. Eyes stared at her without seeing.

"No! NO!" She trashed against him, placing both hands on his chest to push away, but his grip was like a vice, and he was so, so cold.

"Kyen! Kyen, come back! I promise I'll find you!" the world spun, and Sinead fought her body to keep standing. "I-I ..." everything grew dark except Kyen's glowing, dead eyes ... "promise .."

Then everything went black.

…

Din swallowed hard and wet his lips. There was something wrong besides the obvious sudden nightfall, but he couldn't put his finger on it. The forest, despite the concerning lack of wildlife, felt alive. His instincts screamed at him to get out, find shelter and regroup, but the more he walked, the deeper the forest seemed to get. And then there was Sinead ...

He glanced back to where she was walking behind him, head swiveling like she was listening to something far away, mouth moving in a silent stream of words. Was she praying? She had never mentioned believing in anything. Then again, there were a lot of things she didn't mention. He didn't really know her.

There was the smell again! It coated his tongue and thoughts and sent his brain into a dizzying spin; every stray thought threatened to pull him in the wrong direction. A pillar of moonlight shooting down through the canopy, an old bird-nest, long abandoned, the sound of Sinead walking right behind him. He activated the atmospheric processor in his helmet, letting the filter clean the worst of the smell out.

He bit the inside of his cheek hard enough to break the skin, and the pain and taste of blood lifted the mist in his mind just long enough for him to notice the actual mist gathering around the tree roots. It moved like water across the ground and seemed to cling to his leg when it finally reached him. The cold sent a shock through his system.

The flowers had opened during their walk, and bursts of purple covered the ground, peeking up from the mist.

"You seen anything like this?" He turned around to face Sinead, and his heart shuddered in his chest.

She was gone.

Din's lungs seized as he tried to breathe in. The mist swirled slowly where she should have been. "Sinead?" his voice echoed between the trees until it petered out into nothing. "Sinead!"

He started running back the way they'd come, but it felt like he wasn't moving even as the trees rushed past him. Time and space stood still while the forest moved. His lungs burned with fetid air despite the atmospheric processor.

Finally reason broke through the panic, and he slowed to a halt. Running blindly through the forest wouldn't help. He had to think, but his mind wouldn't cooperate. Something was doing this, something that had also gotten to Sinead.

He looked around the shadowy forest at the mist that swirled between the trees. The way it moved didn't look natural. He reached out and watched as strange particles landed on his gloved hand, like pollen. Realization hit and something hard and icy dropped into the pit of his stomach.

A sudden scream broke the silence of the forest, and Din ran. Black spots appeared at the edge of his vision.

Outside his helmet, the mist swirled. He forced himself to breathe evenly, blood pounding in his ears drowning out everything else. The trees shifted and grew closer.

His lungs were burning.

Finally, he found her.

"Sinead?"

She stood in the middle of a small clearing, swaying back and forth like a pendulum, and she started at the sound of his voice, turning around so fast she nearly lost her balance. Clumps of dirt were stuck in her hair, and he could see the whites of her eyes. His breath caught when his eyes fell on the whip clutched in her hand. It glinted in the moonlight. Her thumb hovered over the button.

"Sinead …" It came out as a croak. He held his hands, palms up like he was approaching a wild animal. "Put down the whip, okay? You're safe." He took a careful step toward her. She flinched. "Listen to me. There's something in the air. This isn't real. Whatever you're seeing isn't real."

Sinead's darting eyes finally landed on him, and her face morphed into a sudden, blood-curdling terror that made Din's muscles tense as if ready for a fight.

The whip fell from her hands, and she stumbled back. Din moved without a second thought, crossed the space between them, and grabbed her by the arm, keeping her upright. All her strength had gone out of her, and she shivered.

"No! No!" she shrieked, beating her fists against his chest plate, the words running together into an incomprehensible scream.

"Calm down! I got you …" He needed to get her out of there before it was too late.

"I … I'm—"

Then she folded up with a strangled gasp.

"No!" He couldn't breathe. Sinead hung limply in his arms. He shook her, and her head lolled from side to side. "Sinead! C'mon…" but her shallow breaths were the only sign of life.

He had to get out of there.

He lifted her with a grunt, throwing her over his shoulder. Something glinted by his feet. The whip was lying on the ground nearly obscured by the thick mist. He grabbed it and hooked it on his belt.

With the weight of Sinead literally resting on his shoulder, Din set off running. He didn't care where he was going as long as Sinead got out of there. The mist reached out to grab at him.

Using the dim moonlight, he navigated the forest. He didn't have time to stop and take out the light. He didn't have time for anything. Every second, Sinead was exposed to more of whatever was in the air. She hung limply across his shoulder, completely lifeless. If only she spoke, made some noise to reassure him that she was alright, was going to be alright, the nauseating, burning feeling in his chest would lessen and he could breathe again.

Sweat dripped into his eyes, making them sting. His whole body was on fire and freezing at the same time.

And then, the ground started to rise. Din scrambled up the slope, keeping one arm wrapped around Sinead's thighs and the other grappling for anything to help him keep momentum. Dead leaves slid beneath his feet, and he let out a frustrated grunt.

The terrain evened out a little, and the trees became sparse enough that the stars were visible between the leaves. Silver moonlight dappled the ground, and Din's knees nearly buckled when his eyes fell on a cave set into the cliffside.

It was more hollow than a cave, but it was better than nothing; it was deep enough to provide shelter from the wind. Din could see the valley unfurling through a gap in the trees, glowing with moonlight. Konna had said that the apparitions never went up on the mountain. This had to be high enough.

He knelt on the rock floor and carefully pulled Sinead off his shoulder, laying her on the ground. Her breathing was too shallow. Fear wrapped around his chest, and he brushed some dirty strands of hair away from her face. His hands were shaking. It had to be the toxin still in his system.

Din didn't notice the discomfort from crouching on the ground for so long. He watched in the darkness as a shadow passed over her face, and she frowned, a line appearing between her brows. Unthinking, Din reached out and pressed a finger to her forehead as if he could smooth out the frown. Her lips parted and she made a sound, barely more than an exhale, and relaxed into his hand. It only took him a second to realize what he was doing and snatch his hand back, gritting his teeth in an attempt to distract himself from the flush creeping up his neck. He was too old for something like that.

Sinead’s face drew into another frown, and a shiver went through her body, making her curl in on herself. She looked so small. With slow, almost hesitant movements, he pulled off his cloak and covered the sleeping form. She made a sound, and one hand gripped the fabric and drew it closer to her chest. It felt wrong seeing her so weak and defenseless.

Leaving behind a canteen filled with water, he went out to gather wood for a fire. He couldn't just sit there and wait for her to wake up by herself. This planet's moon was large, and its silver light illuminated the ground and turned everything black and white. When he got back to the cave, he found Sinead curled up on the floor where he left her, still sleeping. Now and again, her face would twitch, eyes moving under her eyelids.

Once the fire was going at the mouth of the cave, there wasn't anything else to do, so Din leaned back against the wall and tried not to think about Sinead.

The mountain was silent except for the crackling of the fire and the faint sound of wind rustling the leaves just outside the cave. He could feel the warmth through his armor, and he cleared his throat, fighting the urge to close his eyes.

A hand landed on his thigh, and his eyes flew open; Sinead looked up at him with dark, confused eyes. "What happened?" It came out in a croak.

"You ..." For a moment, he didn't know what to say, the words jumbling together until his mind went blank. Then, finally, he swallowed around a lump in his throat. "How're you feeling?"

Her lips twitched into an approximation of a smile, and Din's chest felt tight.

"Never better." She struggled to sit up, and Din grabbed her shoulders, gently pulling her to sit against the rock wall. "Water?"

He handed her the canteen, and he fed the fire while she drank. The canteen made a hollow thud as she set it down on the hard floor. "Where are we?" Her voice was still weak, but it sounded clearer.

"Somewhere on the mountain. I had to find higher ground." He sat back against the wall when the tinder caught and the cave lit up with flickering light. "There is some sort of toxin in the air. I don't know where it's coming from, but I think it's what drove the villagers away."

"Great, so Yvinne was right. I was almost hoping it really was ghosts." Sinead pulled the cloak closer around herself, wincing as she stretched her legs out towards the fire.

"Does it hurt?"

"My chest is ... I'll be okay."

"What's the last thing you remember?"

Sinead wet her lips and stared into the fire. "I remember falling down." Her brows knitted. "There was this ... thing in the air. Like mist, almost? But it didn't move like real mist."

"The toxin."

"Yeah." An unreadable emotion crossed her face. "How come you didn't get affected?"

"My helmet. The atmospheric processor bought us enough time to get out of there.”

She yawned and leaned her head back against the wall. "You Mandalorians really do think of everything."

For some reason, her comment made his heart beat faster, and he stared intently at his right knee where the beskar flickered in the firelight.

He started when Sinead suddenly leaned against him, resting her head on his shoulder. There was silence for a beat, then "is this okay?"

"Yeah." He cleared his throat. "S' fine." The fire crackled and sent a cloud of sparks into the night. It couldn't be comfortable resting against the cold beskar. "Uh, do you want me to …"

Sinead lifted her head. "Huh?"

Instead of answering, Din removed the pauldron before he had time to think it through. It made a definite clank that seemed to echo as he placed it on the ground. He tried not to move when Sinead rested her head back on his shoulder, curling her legs up and resting most of her weight against him. Was it his imagination or could he feel the heat from her through his clothes?

He was watching a mass of mushrooms growing in the cracks in the wall, sure that Sinead had fallen asleep when she spoke. "Will you tell me something?"

"What do you wanna know?" He spoke softly as if the mere sound of his voice would push her away.

"I don't really know." She shifted against him. "I just need to hear your voice. I don't... I had a nightmare ... before I woke up."

Heat pricked up his neck, and his mind was completely blank except for the acute realization that she wanted to hear his voice.

"Okay ... so how'd you get the Crest?"

"It's not a very interesting story."

She yawned. "Tell me anyway."

He did. He was halfway through the story of Sorgan and the people there when he noticed her breathing had gotten deeper and more regular and that her head felt heavier on his shoulder. "Sinead?" He whispered, but there was no answer. Her hand had slipped out from under the cloak and was lying limply in her lap, illuminated by the dying fire. Din's own hand curled into a fist and he forced himself to look away.

The night stretched out endlessly before him, and he tried to relax into his armor, eyes on the smoldering embers that were all that remained of the fire. He could feel Sinead breathe against his side, and he closed his eyes and tried to match it with his own.

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#the mandalorian #the mandalorian x oc #Mando x oc #din djarin x oc #din djarin #fanfiction #fic: ends of the earth #oc: sinead

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spoon-writes · 2 years

Text

Ends of the Earth | Chapter 27

Fandom: The Mandalorian

Pairing: Mando x OC

Read on FFN or AO3

Chapter index

Chapter 27 - Ghost Town

It was far from the first time that the trail had gone cold but this time it felt different. There had been so many false leads, setbacks, distractions in the last five years, and the enormity of the task Sinead had set herself felt too ... formidable. The entire galaxy seemed determined not to let her find peace, so why should she keep on fighting?

She had to. What other choice did she have? Her mother's voice echoed in her head: 'You are Corellian. You don't stop coming. You don't give up.' Never mind that her mother had left Corellia as soon as she could and never looked back, never seemed particularly concerned with teaching her daughter about the culture while she was alive. It was enough knowing you were Corellian. Everything else was just superfluous.

A movement out of the corner of her eye snapped her out of her thoughts. "What did you say this planet's name is again?"

"Oribuu II." Mando lifted the kid into a satchel slung over his shoulder.

The Crest had been nearly out of fuel, so Mando had set course for the closest occupied planet. They hadn't talked about what happened with Vekkass since agreeing to go back to Celvalara. She didn't know if she was grateful for that or not.

"Right, yeah." She stretched her arms above her head. "Let's hope they're as friendly as the last settlement."

The weather was mild and comfortable when they stepped out of the ship. The closest settlement was situated at one end of a long and steep valley. Beside it, late morning sun glinted on a lake so still and clear that Sinead thought she saw shadows of fish beneath the surface. A sturdy dock extended into the lake, where a handful of boats were moored. The rest of the valley was blanketed by a deep forest that rose up over the shoulders of the valley.

A wide road ran through the settlement, and every building lining the main street had a wide porch out in front. It all looked very idyllic. There was just one problem.

"Where is everyone?"

The village was empty. A bundle of firewood had been left in the middle of the road, and a hovercart piled high with molding fruit stood abandoned near the patch of grass that served as a landing pad.

"I don't know," Mando said, letting his hand rest on his blaster. "Be careful."

The gravel crunching underneath their feet was the only sound. It felt wrong looking at a place that should be bustling with life. Even at night, when small settlements quieted down, there should still be something, a sign of life. She reached the first house, where a game of sabacc had been underway. Most of the cards were gone, blown away in the wind. A tankard laid on its side, contents long since dried up into a faint stain on the wooden table. She swallowed hard and rested her hand on her blaster. The back of her neck prickled.

The door had been propped open in the next house with a heavy wooden lump of indeterminable utility, and Sinead stepped up on the porch, reaching out for the door handle when she gagged and slapped a hand across her nose; the unmistakable stench of rotting flesh filled the air. She steeled herself before pushing the door open, forcing one foot in front of the other into a large kitchen. Someone had been in the middle of making dinner. There was a black lump on the counter, and as Sinead got nearer, flies swarmed into the air, revealing a hunk of grey meat. A pot sat on the woodstove, and she lifted the lid; black crust had congealed on the bottom. "Looks like they've been gone for a while," she called out to Mando.

As she stepped down from the porch, a cloud passed in front of the sun and ate color from the surroundings until everything was a hue of grey. A gust of wind blew through the street, sending an empty wicker basket rolling across the ground. The sudden nauseating feeling of being watched ambushed her, eyes boring into the back of her head no matter which way she turned. With the sun gone, it felt like the temperature had dropped several degrees.

The kid made a low keening noise and ducked into his satchel.

"Maybe we should just leave," Sinead said.

"There isn't enough fuel. We'll never make it to another settlement."

She forced herself to breathe slowly. "You think it's pirates?"

"I don't know. Maybe." Mando turned in a circle, blaster drawn, ready to react in a split second. Sinead could feel the tension rolling off him, and he kept turning his head like someone was calling his name. The kid had entirely disappeared into the satchel.

A stained sheet ripped itself loose from a clothesline and dragged along the dirty ground.

They had reached the other side of the village when Sinead paused and strained her ears against the unnatural silence. There was a sound, barely audible as if someone was dragging something heavy across the floor. Turning in a circle to determine the source, she stopped facing the last house before the edge of the forest. "You hear that?"

"Hear what?"

The sound became louder, a hollow thump and drag. It definitely came from the house. Someone was dragging something heavy across the floor. "You really don't hear that?"

"I- no. Sinead, what are you-"

"Just ... just give me a second, okay?"

She made her way to the house, carefully stepping onto the porch. The wood creaked under her weight as she sidled up to the window and peeked inside.

It was empty. As soon as her eyes fell on the still room, the noise vanished. Swallowing hard, she pushed the door open and stuck her head inside. Silence echoed back to her. "I could've sworn I heard ..."

"I don't hear anything."

"It's gone now, but I'm sure ..." her chest tightened as she let go of the door. It swung close with a loud clatter.

"Look! Over there!" Mando pointed above the trees. A thin column of smoke rose into the air coming from somewhere on the other side of the valley.

"They might be able to tell us what happened,” said Sinead. She couldn’t shake the feeling that unseen eyes were watching them from every darkened window.

"Or they might be what happened."

"You'd rather stay here?" Another chilly gust of wind blew through the street, and Sinead felt a tremor shooting through her body.

"No."

"Then let's go."

A well-trodden path led more or less straight towards the mountain. Lanterns hung from trees that creaked in the wind when Mando and Sinead passed under them, and Sinead kept stopping to look back at the village still visible between the trees. The forest was open, creating dappled shadows on the ground, and it would be impossible for anyone to sneak up on them. Still, she kept a lookout, not able to let go of the feeling of being watched. A shadow passed overhead and a bird swooped down to look at them with its beady eyes, cawing disapprovingly.

"First sign of life since we got here."

"Wonder if he knows what happened to the villagers." Sinead watched the bird watching her. Then, with a final caw, it spread its wings and disappeared into the trees.

With every step bringing them farther from the village, Sinead's head became clearer, and she started to notice things in the underbrush; strange flower buds grew between the moss and dead leaves. The stems were dark green, and the bud a shock of purple that was impossible to ignore once she'd spotted them.

The ground began to rise, first slowly and then in a sudden, steep incline until the only way to move forward was to cling to the path. Rocky outcrops hung with lichen were visible between the trees, and there were more signs of life; an animal burrow was visible from the path and bird nests high up in the trees. A colorful insect crawled up a nearby tree trunk.

Mando's hand shot out and stopped her. "Wait. You hear that?"

She stilled and strained her ears; beneath the general noise of the forest, she heard faint voices coming from further up the path.

Mando thrust the satchel at Sinead while drawing his blaster in a smooth motion.

When she put a calming hand on the kid's head, he reached up and grabbed her ring finger in a surprisingly tight hold. The back of her neck prickled.

They moved towards the sound, Mando in front and Sinead trailing after, craning her neck to catch a glimpse of invisible eyes watching from between the trees. The voices grew louder, as did the sound of running water. The path disappeared around a boulder and Mando gestured to her to stay quiet. The voices were directly up ahead.

There was a splash, and then:

"Damn it, Lug! Now it's all wet!"

There was a bark of laughter. "Calm down! Just leave it out to dry, it'll be fine."

"Oh, you're an expert in blasters, are you? Kriff off!"

"Don't be such a wet rag!" More laughter.

"Konna's gonna kill you."

Sinead waited with bated breath as Mando peeked around the boulder, standing completely still for a couple of seconds, before looking back at her and shrugging. Then he took a step around the boulder, and she followed.

A clear stream sprung out from the mountainside and washed across the path before disappearing into a hollow, feeding into the lake below. Two human men— more like boys—stood on a small crossing built over the running water carrying full buckets of water. One of them was dripping wet.

The dry one spotted Mando and let out a yelp, dropping his bucket in a spray of water. His friend whirled around, flinging his bucket to the side and grabbed for his blaster. It made a pathetic noise when he pressed the trigger, and a single spark fizzed from the end. It was as soaked as its owner.

"You know, you're not supposed to get those things wet," Sinead said helpfully. Seeing actual real-life sentients, armed as they were, was less scary than the oppressive silence in the village. At least here she knew what dangers to keep an eye on.

"It wasn't me! Lug did it!" The boy yelled, stabbing a finger at the other. He hadn't noticed his bucket floating away in the stream.

"A-are you real? Like, alive?" Lug had snatched his own bucket from the ground and was holding it like a shield.

"Are we alive? What kind of question is that?" Sinead said.

"We landed in the village," Mando said. "It was deserted."

"You came from the village?" The still nameless boy's mouth dropped open. "And you didn't see them?"

"See what?" Mando's tone suggested that he was getting impatient.

Sinead fought against the urge to rub her fingers against her temple. "It was empty when we got there. What happened?"

The boys exchanged looks.

"Maybe we should take them to the others."

"Are you stupid? They might be one of them!"

"Are you stupid? You ever heard one of them talk?"

"I don't wanna get in trouble."

"Stop being such a wet rag!"

"Konna's really gonna kill us."

"Enough!" Mando barked, and the boys jumped.

Lug thrust out his chin and stood at his full height, but the effect he was going for was somewhat spoiled by the white-knuckled grip he had on the bucket. "If ... if we take you back to the others, then I want your weapons. You know, for-for safety."

"Yeah, that's not gonna happen," Sinead said.

"B-but-"

“Forget it, kid.”

"Look-" Sinead felt the satchel shift as the kid peeked up over the rim- "we're not here to cause any trouble, but our ship's nearly out of fuel and we're not gonna make it to a different planet. If you take us to the rest of the villagers, we can work something out. You're not getting our weapons, though."

The boys exchanged another nervous look. "I guess ..." Lug said. "B-but I'm warning you! Don't try anything!"

Mando let out a sigh and shoved his blaster back in its holster.

"Wouldn't dream of it with such fearless guards," Sinead mumbled out of the corner of her mouth to Mando, who rolled his shoulders in irritation.

Lug and the other boy led them over the little bridge and further along the path. They kept glancing over their shoulders with varying degrees of apprehension; the other boy looked like he was about to give in to his instincts and run for the nearest burrow, and Lug still clutched the empty bucket to his chest.

As they walked, the trees became more and more sparse, and the uninterrupted sun felt like pins and needles on the top of her head. The dirt path turned to gravel, and every step threw up a cloud of dust that quickly spread until the air turned hazy. Wild berry bushes grew between the boulders, and there was a smell of wood smoke in the wind.

The path ended abruptly at the edge of a plateau overlooking the valley below. The village was a dark spot beside the glittering lake, eerily quiet in the sunlight that infused the surroundings with life. A hut sat back from the edge surrounded by a sea of tents and hastily constructed lean-tos that stood in groups around smaller fires. With the sudden lack of shelter, the wind blew fiercely. Washing lines laden with dripping clothes were strung between tent poles, and people were milling about between the tents. So this was where the villagers had gone.

"Lug! Tomil! What in the blazes took you so long?" An old woman appeared from a tent and hobbled across the uneven ground with the help of a walking stick. "Where's the water, you stupid boys?"

"Uh, Konna? We, uh-"

With a swing of the walking stick, Lug was shoved to the side, and Konna squinted up at Mando. "Who're you? How'd you get here?"

"We landed in the village down in the valley. Our ship's out of fuel," Sinead said, watching the walking stick warily out of the corner of her eye.

"And They didn't stop you? Gods almighty ..."

"Uh-" Sinead felt Mando tense up beside her- "the village was deserted when we got there."

The old woman pursed her lips, deepening her wrinkles. "You two truly don't know how lucky you are."

Lucky? Sinead hadn't had one lucky day in her life. "How so?"

"You escaped the Lost, didn't you."

A chill that had nothing to do with the cold wind ran down Sinead's spine. "Who are they?"

Konna cocked her head to the side like she was listening intently, then spun around. "Better follow me, I think." She started walking before either Sinead or Mando could answer, leading them through the city of tents towards the lone hut. Villagers stopped what they were doing to watch the strangers pass by. A group of children played on a patch of grass, but the adults seemed drawn and quiet, eyes flickering to the edge of the trees as if anticipating an ambush any second.

When Konna reached the hut she pushed open the door with her walking stick and walked right in. Sinead and Mando exchanged a look before following her into what turned out to be a single room consisting of a narrow bed, an ancient woodstove, and a round table that took up most of the space. A human man sat in a rickety chair, and a woman leaned against the stove, black hair streaked with grey. "Konna!!" The woman burst out. "By the stars-"

"Strangers!" The man leaped to his feet. "How did you-"

"Said they landed in the village." Konna grabbed the back of the now empty chair and dragged it around the table, sitting down with a sigh. "Didn't see nobody."

"You're lucky," the man said.

"We heard. You mind telling us what's going on?" Mando crossed his arms over his chest.

"Told you, it's the Lost," Konna said.

"Gonna need a bit more than that," Sinead said.

The woman by the stove let out a deep sigh. "It's some sort of mass hallucinatory episode-"

"Don't be daft, girl! You saw them as well as I did, so don't go around trying to discount your own two eyes just because it's not what you want to see. You're better than that."

The woman pressed her lips into a thin line.

"As I was saying," Konna continued, "the Lost's always been here ever since the planet was settled, longer probably. I saw them once when I was a wee girl, close to the heart of the forest. Souls that linger long after the body has gone. You could hear them at night on the wind." A small smile tugged at her wrinkled face. "They didn't hurt anybody s'long as people kept out of the deepest part of the forest. Of course they didn't, mind you, seemed like every other year some young lad wanted to show off by wandering into their paths. The ones that came back came back wrong." While she talked, the woman's face grew even more sour. "Dunno what, but something drove them out of their home. Hunters spotted them wandering the forest in daylight until one day they swarmed the village. We escaped up here where they can't reach. S'pose it's only a matter of time."

The back of Sinead's neck prickled as she remembered the feeling of being watched in the village; it had been so quiet, no animals had moved in to take advantage of the sudden unguarded settlement. The only noise had been the wind blowing through the street—until she heard it, bumps that came from an empty house ...

"When was this?" Mando asked the man who had been silent ever since Konna started talking.

"'Bout 12 cycles ago. They've kept away from the mountains for now, so we've survived on game and forage."

"That's not gonna last forever," the woman at the stove interjected. "Once winter hits, we'll all starve if we don't freeze to death first."

"You can't fight the Lost, Yvinne," Konna said.

"Can't fight starvation neither."

"No one noticed an entire village gone quiet?" Sinead broke in.

"Planet's not on any hyperlane; we're mostly self-sufficient. So there isn't any reason for anyone to come all the way out here." The man eyed them, suddenly suspicious. "What brought you here?"

"Our ship's out of fuel," Mando said.

The man tapped a finger on the worn table. "I see. My name's Illenn, and that's Yvinne, our resident doctor. You've met Konna." The old woman had caught sight of the kid and was making faces at him from across the table.

"You're in charge?" Mando said impatiently.

Yvinne snorted, which Illenn pointedly ignored. "More or less. When the Lost first appeared in the village I got everyone out, convinced the old coot who lives here to let us stay."

"Come winter he ain't gonna have to share," Yvinne said.

"Look," Illenn said, "we got fuel in the village, but I'm not letting anyone down there, not now. It's too dangerous, and we can't spare anyone besides." His eyes flickered from Sinead to Mando and back again. Here we go. "If you go into the heart of the forest, find whatever displaced the Lost, you can leave with as much fuel as you want, free of charge."

"We're expendable, you mean?" Sinead said as Mando heaved an explosive sigh.

Illenn shrugged. "You look like you can handle yourselves, and you've made it through the village without crossing the spirits. Yvinne is right that we can't stay here forever. Supplies are already running low."

Sinead pursed her lips. Mando had said the chance of making it to another settlement was slim. "Where is this heart of the forest?"

"You can see it from the cliff," Illenn said, moving around the seated Konna. "It's about 4 hours, on the other side of the valley."

"How big's the valley?" Sinead and Mando followed Illenn outside into the sunlight that seemed much brighter after the poorly lit hut.

"It's not a question of how big it is. The forest gets progressively harder to walk the further you go, and there aren't no paths. As Konna said, most people know to keep out of that place. "He led them through the tents and to the edge of the plateau; the forest rolled out beneath them, a blanket of green that clung to the shoulders of the valley and only seemed to thin at the top where grey stone peeked out between the crowns. It was hard to imagine that anything could lurk in the forest.

"See that?" Illenn pointed at a dark patch of the forest at the far side of the valley. "That's the heart."

Konna had followed them through the city of tents and stood squinting in the sunlight. "You lot better be careful, you hear? There's no telling what you'll find."

"Whatever it is I'm sure we can handle it." Sinead hiked the kid further up her arm.

"You're ain't gonna bring him, surely?" Konna's voice changed; for the first time since they met her, the good-natured creak was gone. "It's too dangerous for a tiny thing like him!"

Mando was beside Sinead in an instant. "I'm not leaving him here."

Konna's face turned hard as stone, and she tapped her walking stick on the ground. "You think the Lost are gonna go easy on him because he's a kiddie? They've taken stronger men than you, believe me. If you have any sense at all behind all that metal, you'll leave him here in safety."

"No. He comes with us."

Konna made a face that made all her wrinkles deepen. "You're not thinking straight, my boy, you might think you can protect him, but the Lost are-"

"He goes where I go. Always."

A tiny noise made Sinead look down at the kid, who was watching Konna with mild eyes. One of his ears was creased where he'd leaned his head against her chest. "Mando, I think she's right."

"What?"

"C'mon." She gave him a look. "We don't know what's out there, and if any of us gets distracted, it could end bad. Look around-" she gestured to the shabby tents and shabbier people-"the worst that could happen here is that he trips over a rock. I don't think bringing him along would do him any favors."

Mando's hands clenched at his sides, and for a while, Sinead thought he might snatch the kid right out of her arms. "Fine," he said at last, voice tight like a wound spring. "But if anything happens to him-"

In an instance, the shadow fell from Konna's face, and she beamed at the kid, reaching her wrinkled and suntanned hands towards him, gently lifting him out of Sinead's arms. "Psh! You just worry about the Lost. You got a whole village counting on you."

Sinead glanced around the tired and gaunt faces watching from the tents or sitting in clusters on the bare ground, averting their eyes as soon as she looked their way. She swallowed a lump in her throat. "Guess we better get going, then."

While Illenn went out looking for a temporary guide--only to show them as far as the village-- and Mando came to terms with leaving the child with Konna, Sinead leaned against a tree and waited. The villagers had gotten a little bit braver, and some had even crawled out of their tents to watch the strangers out of the corner of their eyes. Three kids hid behind a barrel and took turns peeking out, followed by a high-pitched whispering.

"Excuse me?" Yvinne was standing with her arms stiffly at her side like she had to concentrate on keeping from folding them across her chest.

"Yeah?"

"So you're really going? To uncover whatever happened with the ... things."

"That's the plan." She turned to face Yvinne, leaning her shoulder against the tree and feeling the bark pull at her jacket.

"Look," Yvinne said and stepped closer, keeping one eye on Konna. "I know Konna and Illenn are sure that this is some ancient legend come true, but I'm not so sure."

"Clearly."

"It's not only affecting sentients. You noticed that there aren't any animals in the valley? It started before the first sightings-" her lips folded into a frown-" the birds were the first to disappear. Sound like ancient spirits to you?"

"You're not from around here, are you?"

"Clearly." She turned her hard eyes on Sinead. "You believe in all of this Lost nonsense?"

Sinead pursed her lips, her eyes finding the child that was safely tucked away in Mando's arms. "Don't know. Lately I've seen enough unexplainable things to know that anything's possible."

Yvinne gave a huff. "Just keep your wits about you, eh? Sometimes the most logical explanation is the simplest one. And that isn't ancient ghosts."

Illenn returned with a tall woman trailing after him. As he came closer, Mando reluctantly relinquished the kid to Konna and came over to stand beneath the tree.

"Uh-huh," Sinead said. "I'll keep that in mind."

"You do that." Yvinne sent a dark look towards Illenn and made her way back to the small hut.

"What's she talking about?" Mando asked, watching the woman stomp away.

"Let's say she's not big on the whole ghost theory," Sinead mumbled and then raised her voice, "we're ready to go?"

"She'll take you down the mountain, point you in the right direction. Then you're on your own," Illenn said seriously. The woman didn't say a word.

"On our own. Got it."

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#the mandalorian #the mandalorian x oc #mando x oc #din djarin x oc #din djarin #fanfiction #fic: ends of the earth #oc: sinead

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