Our radio community had expanded to seven groups. They all reported that the vegetation was recovering, but none dared go out and farm or eat anything growing wild.
We'd explained Aquaponics to everyone and found that six of the communities were using that system. The group that claimed they were in Montana were eating MRE's and survivalist food they'd stockpiled. They calculated they only had a few months of food left.
After due deliberation they decided that they would go out and try to get the materials needed to build their own Aquaponics setup. Albert told them that they should be able to use any vegetable seed they could locate, but unless they could find an uncontaminated source for fish they should not eat any of the fish they used. They also needed to ensure the soil they used in the growing trays was uncontaminated. That went double for the water, they should filter it through sand and charcoal several times. There should be no odor or discoloration. After filtration they should let it settle as long as they could and dip out the water on top to use and dump any sediment at the bottom.
~ ~ ~
Chapter 6
Our third spring in the cavern was the first time we saw birds in the trees. They were a sign that the outside world was recovering. Erlyst informed everyone that we would know when the eggs hatched. If the hatchlings survived to become fledglings then it would probably safe to hunt the adults, but it would be better to wait an additional year. A bird watching detail was set up by the children.
The game animals were also observed closely. Our contacts with the other groups reported about the same, except for Montana group. They claimed that the game recovered fully and they were hunting. They even said they had several gardens planted outside in meadows.
Dale R asked them if they'd burned any of the vegetation. When they answered yes, he asked them it the smoke smelled right or did it have a chemical smell. They said the wood smelled right but the bushes and grass they burned smelled a little like chemicals. He then informed them that the soil they'd planted in and the game they were eating probably still had some contaminants. They should be aware of that, and take any precautions they thought necessary.
He then told them we were still decontaminating ourselves when we came back into our shelter. We'd built a three room airlock and kept outside clothing in one and inside clothing in another with a shower rigged in the middle room. Several of our people argued that this was a bit extreme, but no one tracked possible contaminants into our shelter.
That fall James fell into the creek. He swallowed some water and got violently ill for over a week. Jim and Deborah, his parents were beside themselves until he was up and walking around again. Nina's first aid expertise was used along with the home remedies that Erlyst knew. His hair didn't fall out so we assumed that it wasn't radiation, so Dale organized an expedition up the creek to discover what may be poisoning it.
At the head of the valley they found several decomposed human and animals bodies. The team cleaned up the carcasses and buried them. Then they continued up the creek and followed all the tributaries up to where they started cleaning them as they went. When they returned they had several hand drawn maps. As far as Dale knew no one had ever completely mapped the valley and this was a start.
They had even found a few more cave entrances, one with bones it it.
Jim and the other community leaders discussed a face to face meeting the next summer. Several dates and locations were discussed where they could rendezvous. That way they could survey their surroundings for resources and possible threats to their communities.
~ # (ToC) # ~
The Gascoyne Family
Chapter 1 The Summons
Bill was hanging by his fingers from just five feet from the cave entrance. He cursed his luck. He knew he should have rigged ropes or something the second time he visited the cave. But, entrance to a sacred cave had to be earned each time. If the spirits didn't want him to enter, either he would fall or be allowed to climb down.
Hearing a crack, he looked down and saw all his handholds below were gone and the cliff now looked like a sheet of glass. Invoking his spirit guide he pulled himself up one handhold at a time and watched the glass-like surface crawl up the cliff. As he threw his arm over the ledge to enter the cliff he felt his fingers being forced from the crevice and the glass-like surface approach the ledge. With a last desperate pull he managed to get his other hand on the ledge and felt for the ridges on the ledge. With a sigh of relief he realized they were still there and it felt like someone was pulling on his arm as he levered his leg over the edge and rolled into the cave.
Never before had the forty foot climb been so hard.
Then he heard a whisper on the wind saying that he should go south and see Buzzard Head. A chill filled him and frost started forming on the walls. As he pulled his rope over his shoulder it disintegrated in his fingers. Quickly he rolled to the right and reached for a handhold he'd used before to climb to the top of the cliff. As soon as he touched it he fell. Wondering why the spirits would give him a command and then make him fall to his death, he inhaled the cold air. It shouldn't be this cold in August. Opening his eyes he could see the shadow of the cave entrance above disappear.
Then he saw Nuttah looking down at him and she said, “Husband we must go quickly, the spirits have spoken.” As they approached the camp Nuttah pulled him directly over to the ponies and said, “We leave now.”
Looking over his shoulder as they crested the ridge the small valley looked like it was filled with smoke.
Three days later they passed through Phoenix and headed for the reservation that he knew was near the border.
Suddenly Nuttah said, “Take that trail and stop at the first creek. I need to gather a few things.”
She hopped out and gathered a few pebbles from the creek. He felt something fall on his head and reaching up realized it was a feather.
When they came to fence she tossed a pebble into the air and it drifted to the ground to their right. They turned right and followed the fence for about 3 hours until he found a gate. Looking at the gate he knew that only the top latch would open it. After driving through he closed the gate and followed the trail. At dusk he turned and found an old campsite. Nuttah gathered wood while he built a fire and placed the grate back on the stones. As they heated their food a young Indian walked into their camp and said, “You should not be here. This is not your land.”
Pulling the feather from his hair Bill said, “I follow a spirit command. Where do I find Buzzard Head.”
The young Indian said, “A guide will be here in the morning.” Then he walked out of sight in a second.
Nuttah said, “Husband that was no man. I have never heard of the spirits being so restless.”
In the morning a young Indian entered the camp with a horse and said, “He will take you to Buzzard Head, carry nothing except your knives.”
Stripping to a breech cloth he leaped upon the horse and held a hand down to his wife. She pulled her beaded vest closed and moved behind him. A few paces from the camp the horse leaped a ravine and then they were at another camp with many campfires. A woman with fire from her hands told them to get down and walk to the second campfire and wait.
As they approached the fire a woman with a pouch hanging from her neck turned and a cougar sign flared on her face. Nuttah raised her left hand and said, “My husband was summoned. I shall wait here.”
The woman simply pointed at the fire and said, “You will need to listen also. Sit.” Handing Bill a piece of wood and a reed she then said, “You must make a new pipe.”
Sitting, Bill started digging a hole in the wood with his knife and then using Nuttah's thin knife bored down and then a hole in the side to insert the reed. Then taking a brand from the fire he started burning the inside of the bowl. A young maiden came by and gave Nuttah several tobacco leaves which she shredded and put in her vest pocket.
Bill sat very still as a white man and several medicine men sat down and sev
eral medicine women sat behind them. Only the white man had three women sitting around him. Nuttah moved behind her husband and handed him a palm full of shredded tobacco.
Looking at Bill the white man said, “You have been summoned to this world because in your world you must prepare to save your people. You will find several men of power that already prepare to save their families. Heed their knowledge.
~ ~ ~
Chapter 2 The Return
Bill and Nuttah were no sooner standing after the smoking of the pipes than the camp faded. Nuttah quickly said, “We must leave this place and find our truck.” It took them three days walking to return to their first campsite.
Driving north on the trails they knew they'd passed the fence when they arrived at the highway. Nuttah pointed to the right and they proceeded to Phoenix. Bill noticed the feather moving around on the dash and followed the direction shaft pointed.
Several hours later the shaft pointed back toward a building they'd just passed so Bill circled the block and the shaft kept pointing at the building. Parking in front of the main doors he picked up the feather and they walked into the building. The shaft pointed toward the elevators so they walked into one and the shaft pointed toward the number 7. Nuttah pressed the button.
Arriving at the 7th floor they followed the floating feather passed a startled receptionist and down the hall to the door at the end. Bill knocked on the door as Nuttah turned and placed a protection spell on the hallway. Two security guards ran into it and bounced back on their seats. A woman opened the door and glared at them.
Bill repeated, “The spirits have summoned us, but you don't have the fire your sister from the spirit world has. Where is Buzzard Head?” Then they saw him sitting behind the desk by the big window. In front of the desk was a one legged man and a young woman.
Nuttah took five steps forward and knelt in front of the young woman and said, “Spirit Sister, we have been summoned to protect our people. You will travel to the ring of loose rocks and your father we will help.” Then she passed out on the floor.
The one legged man turned to the man behind the desk and demanded to know what kind of con he was pulling. “This is not what I came here for. You wanted an advertising program set up to educate the Indians on health, not some harebrained bullshit about my daughter flying off to the asteroid belt.” Suddenly he knew that he'd said to much and stopped.
The man behind the desk stated, “I don't know these people.”
Bill then said, “I am Bill Gascoyne and this is my wife Nuttah. We have just come from a trip through the spirit world where we met Buzzard Head and Fire woman,” pointing at the man behind the desk and the woman by the door. “We followed the spirit feather and it brought us here. The Buzzard Head in the other world possess an ice spirit and the woman possess a fire spirit. You don't. However you are with the one legged man and his daughter that have a plan to save their people. Our people at four corners need their and your help before the rocks in the sky fall.”
The man behind the desk quietly said, “Liz, have security escort these people out.”
She looked out into the hall and said, “Security seems to have run into an invisible wall. They can't get in!.”
“Paula, get in here.” shouted the man behind the desk. The receptionist walked around the two security guards and into the office.
Liz's mouth dropped open along with the security guards in the hall and they doubled their efforts to break in. She realized that something beyond her was in effect so she waved the guards off and closed the door.
“Sit down Paula and take notes.”
The man behind the desk then demanded, “I want you to tell Tim and me your story from the start.”
Bill decided to start from the beginning. “My great grandfather was a trapper that went native in the mid 1800's and built a cabin high in the mountains of Colorado. Over the decades he acquired more land. His sons and grandsons being part Ute used the laws from the white culture to increase their land holdings. When the Ute were finally given a reservation near four corners we all were lucky and managed to be included under the law as Indian, but kept our privately owned land on the edge of the reservation.
“Last week visiting my medicine cave the spirits told me to go south and meet a great medicine man. South of I10 we ran into a fence and went through a gate the the feather guided us to. After setting up camp at a prepared spot we were contacted by a spirit man.
“The next morning we were transported to a village by horse in a few minutes. We met you and two of your four wives. All three of you had different powers. The second wife had the mark of a panther on her face. After they told us what to do they and the village faded. It took us three days to walk back to our camp.
“Driving north we passed where the fence should have been and reached I10. We followed the feather until we were here. You know know my story and why we came here. I know your white name and hers, but as you know I can't say it until you are identified.”
“Paula, give me your note pad and none of this is to be even hinted at. It comes under much more than client privilege.”
She stood and handed her steno pad to him and then asked, “Sir if half of this is true would you please do your best to insure my children are safe.”
With a sigh he said, “Yes. Now that she's gone, I have a story to tell. Two months ago, a woman walked out of the wall of my bedroom. I thought I was having a nightmare. She informed me that there were multiple time-lines on earth. Her's was one of the more advanced and they'd detected the others after an two individuals appeared in her laboratory. She said her high energy experiment went wrong. It had pulled a couple from another time-line to hers. They died, but not before they told her their story. It took her team two years before they could duplicate travel between time-lines. She gave me a video tape and told me to copy it immediately because when the reactor dropped below a certain level the tape would snap back to its own time-line I got about half of it copied before it disappeared. It's in the safe at home.
“Now you appear and tell a tale that can't be true, yet I think it may be. This man is Tim and his daughter Susan. The young woman by the door is the owners daughter Elizabeth and she has a sister Suzanne that I'm married to. I give you permission to say my name.”
Bill thought for a few seconds and said, “Mike Warren is your name and you have a son in Texas. Do you know a Wilhelm Doctor or Setia Zysk? They are two other names that I have heard that are important, yet they must be brought and introduced to me before I'll know anything more about them.” Turning to Tim Bill commented, “Your cavern will be safe for almost a year after you launch your first spaceship. You have someone named Albert in your company that is very important to that cavern's security and someone named Stephen that will be a catalyst to keep you on time.”
The intercom on the desk chimed and as Mike answered it a voice announced. “The lobby just called up. A policeman informed the receptionist that the pickup truck parked out front has been ticketed and will be towed on their next circuit. Security says that the truck was driven by the couple in your office. What do you want done Sir?”
“Have someone from security drive it to my home, and arrange for transportation for six for this afternoon. Also call the house and tell the cook that we'll have four extra this evening for supper and overnight. Also tell them to notify everyone that there will be a family meeting tonight.”
Removing his finger from the intercom Mike said, “Accumulation of information is essential. You've hinted of a global catastrophe coming, the woman that visited me hinted that it wasn't natural and only a few would survive provided they got off the planet. Tim you've been implicated as having a secret space program by two sources, that woman and Bill here. I've heard of Dr. Doctor and he will be hard to contact. Liz, put Paula on it and call Jacinda and have her locate this Zysk woman and I want a full report on her.
“Uh, Tim you have the contract for health education to the Indians and
I think we'll also include the Ute at the four corners reservation. Since your cavern is revealed, I'll let you handle finding this Albert and Stephen. Anything you say here comes under client privilege as soon as you give me a retainer. Now we have about three hours to rough out a plan before we leave for supper.
# # (ToC) # #
About the Author
I've loved westerns and science fiction since I picked up my first book at the public library.
I've been writing on my computer for years. I never planned on any of my stories being published, just to be read by myself, family, and friends. The base journal is on forty spreadsheets with links to about a thousand files of short one day paragraphs plus other stories.
Other books by Stephen Brandon
SATURN2020 series
The Impossible Ambition
Az
The Alien Spacecraft
The Asteroid Belt
spin off from the SATURN2020 series
Az's Children
The Ones Before
Miscellaneous Fiction & Short Stories
Grandpas Hot Sauce
Pacific 41
Scout Expedition
The Plan and other short stories
From Texas to New York
5 Short Stories
Connect with Stephen Brandon
Write me a note: criticisms or accolades
~(ToC)~
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