A groundswell of cheering and applause erupted from the tribe. Suzy held up her hand for silence. She screamed with all the pent-up passion of her thirty four years. “I want you all to look on the miracle my creature did for me. He found my baby. Look . . . look at the perfect hands of your future leader.”
As the crowd roared its amazement, she held up baby Lorna for all to see.
“Your future leader . . . Lorna Calloway Benjamin!”
Chapter 10
2147 AD
Ginger Mae and Daisy sat face to face in the complicated lab where the ninety-six-year-old intellectual savant spent most of her waking hours. It had taken Ginger Mae decades to get over the fact that she was no longer her six-year-old little girl.
She gazed fondly at the sweet face she had given birth to, recognizing signs of maturity in the way Daisy had taken to cutting her hair in a tightly-layered chic crop. She wore tailored pants and cardigan sweater, found long ago in the huge supply cavern where the Kreyven had dumped the contents of a department store in preparation of their arrival.
“Mother.”
Ginger Mae snapped her attention back to her daughter. “I know, I know,” she said worriedly.
Daisy reached out to take her mother’s hand. “Mother, you know I love you dearly, but it’s time to let this go. The operation is my destiny. Netty assures me there is no danger of any kind. I will just come back . . . different. Altered, if you will.”
Ginger Mae patted Daisy’s hand. “I know you’ll be safe with Netty. It’s just that Oolaha is so far away. It’s not even our solar system. I’m just . . .” She put her head down.
“You are what, Mother?”
“I’m afraid you might not come back.”
Daisy shook her head, turning to call to Hud who poked around the exhibits in the lab whenever he got the chance to visit. He pulled himself away and hurried over to his wife and stepchild.
“What’s up with my two best ladies?” He bent down to give them both a hug.
“My mother is ready to freak out. I’m not postponing the trip again. I want to be ready to help build our settlement when we leave here, so I need to get it done now. Once the settlement is complete, I will be going for good. Mother has had plenty of time to get used to the idea. Can you speak to her, Hud? We’re leaving in the morning. I hope you’ll be there to see me off.”
Hud opened his mouth to speak, but Ginger Mae cut him off. “We’ll be there. In the wedding cavern . . . first thing. I know this is what you want, Daisy Chain.”
Daisy cringed at the sound of the old nickname. “Mother.”
Hud stood up. “Well, it’s settled then. That didn’t take long. Maybe we should head over to the kitchen now. It’s almost dinner time. I heard Dezi might have a special treat for a certain little lady tonight.” Ginger Mae stood up with her daughter, brushing away a few tears. She gave her daughter a hug.
“I will always love you, Mother.”
Ginger Mae smiled down on the diminutive woman before her. “I know you will, baby. Me, too.” Wrapping her arm around Daisy, they headed for the door, pausing as Daisy locked her lab up tight, then headed for Netty’s noisy kitchen.
The sounds from the kitchen greeted them in the hallway; Maya’s screams of delight the loudest. She suddenly appeared outside the kitchen in all her toddler Elder glory, throwing herself against the regal and tolerant Caesar, who grunted as the child slapped him on the head.
“My kitty.”
Caesar turned his face to the wall as if she didn’t warrant his time. Ginger Mae bent down to pick her up, giving the beleaguered big cat some peace. Caesar turned his big head back to watch and blinked his golden eyes, all the thanks she would receive.
The chaos in the kitchen stayed mostly in the addition that had been carved by the Kreyven, decades ago. It was where the infants stayed, supervised by Father Garcia and Maddy who had personal chambers off the main room.
Because of the size of the infants, it had been decided not to have them sleep with their parents until the settlement was built. The duties and responsibilities within the Hive did not allow for much time to care for an infant. So Father Garcia and Maddy continued to run the nursery, and the moms and dads took over at meal times and after dinner.
Ginger Mae watched from her seat at the table as the moms and dads filtered into the nursery. She felt Daisy’s arm snake around her waist.
“Are you ever sorry you sent the baby back with the Kreyven?”
Ginger Mae rubbed the thin arm that circled her waist.
“No, sweetie. I’ll never know where the baby came from, but I knew it wasn’t right to keep her. She was such a newborn that she had to belong to someone else. I can’t imagine who or where, but the Kreyven wouldn’t have taken her away if there wasn’t a mother somewhere feeling a hole in her heart. Maybe someday we’ll have an answer.” Ginger Mae brightened. “Just another mystery in this strange life we’re living.”
“Babe, I’m headed over to talk to Wil and Cobby. We’re making plans to do some testing up above. Cobby thinks we might be able to step up our plans to resurface.”
Kissing the top of her head, he headed over to the table where Wil and Cobby sat talking with Johno and Peter. They looked up as he approached, Peter sliding over to give him some space. “You’re just in time. Wil has some news for us.”
Hud nodded to the other men and sat. “So . . . what’s up guys? We going to do the test like we planned?”
Wil’s muscles tightened as he leaned in, his wings clinging tight to his body with his tail strapped around his waist. “I don’t think it will be necessary, Hud. I’ve been informed that if we can get our materials moved to the wedding cavern, closest to the entrance, we should be good to go in about two weeks.”
“You’re shittin’ me.” Jaws dropped. “Two weeks?” The men were flabbergasted at the unexpected news. Pale faces with mixtures of joy and trepidation sat silent.
“I thought you would all be ready to celebrate?”
“It’s just that it’s so sudden, Wil,” said Cobby, who glanced over to see Johno nodding his head slowly, pensive and calm.
“I must get my elephants ready. Tobi will be excited, but so many have never seen the outside.”
“Don’t worry, Johno. We’ll do this in stages. First, we’ll move all the building materials to the cavern. Anything that’s removable will be moved there. We’ll move the kitchen last. When we’re ready, we’ll go outside. We’ll let the animals come and go as they want. Many will go back and forth until we ourselves begin to live above ground. It’ll take a long time until our settlement is constructed. We’ll need to build many houses, clear fields, plant . . .” Heads were nodding, hands being clenched.
“Yeah . . . we have a lot of hard work ahead of us, but it’s all good.” Peter grinned, his excitement infectious.
“What about the others?” Cobby asked. “Should we let them know?”
Hud held up a hand. “If you don’t mind, this is Daisy’s last night. Dezi has planned a special dinner and a cake for her. Can we leave it until after she leaves tomorrow morning? We can make the announcement at breakfast.”
All the men agreed. They had much to think about anyway. It wouldn’t hurt to have some more time to prepare for the questions that were bound to come. Containing their excitement, they scattered back to their own tables to enjoy Daisy’s last night.
*
Scotty and Chloe, Kenya and Kane, along with Echo, Barney and Teddy, lay scattered around the fireplace, eating their cake after the knockout dinner Dezi had created for Daisy’s celebration.
“But I still do not understand, Brother. Why did we not sing to the happy birthday girl?” Echo’s mind aura circled in Scotty’s head. He could feel it flounder blindly.
“I thought I explained that, Echo. It’s not her birthday.”
“But this is her cake. It must be her birthday and we must sing.”
“Listen, you little rascal. Just enjoy smelling the cake.”<
br />
“Is she not the guest of honor? And is she not getting her wish to go away for her operation? The empirical evidence shows, it must be her birthday. Does she not want her birthday song?”
“We only sing Happy Birthday on the day you were born, you know that, Echo.”
“But we have cake.”
Scotty hung his head. If he didn’t give in to Echo, this could go on all night.
“Why fight it?” Chloe laughed. She stood, clapping her hands. “Attention. Attention everyone. Echo has requested we sing her favorite song. Tonight it will be for Daisy.”
Echo scrambled to her feet as the laughter and groans came from the crowd. Standing at attention, she fluttered her wings in approval as the survivors gave a rousing rendition of Happy Birthday. Echo’s fondness for the song was a curse they had all learned to laugh off.
“See, Brother Scotty, I told you. Sister Chloe understands. I am so happy to see that she is so tuned in. I must keep my eye on her. I have a great feeling about her, did I tell you that?” The friends erupted in laughter as Echo’s aura danced in their minds.
“Yes, my sweet friend. You tell us at least once a week. Thanks for the reminder.” Chloe leaned over to deposit Echo in her lap. Within two minutes, Barney had maneuvered Echo off her lap and back to his spot, reclaiming Echo as his.
Kane turned to Scotty as Baby trundled over to climb onto Kenya’s chair with her; her nightly abdominal massage set to begin.
“So what do you think about the rumor I heard? You must know the scoop, Scotty.”
Chloe perked up, wrinkling her nose. “Rumor?”
“Shhh, we aren’t supposed to talk about it yet. Wait until after Daisy leaves.”
“Oh, come on, Scotty. It’s us. We don’t keep secrets,” Chloe reacted with indignation. When Scotty refused to be goaded, she turned to Echo. “What’s Scotty talking about, E?”
“We’ll be leaving the Hive soon.” The auras swirled. “Change is coming. There will be much work. Much change.”
Chloe’s hand flew up in surprise. “That’s sooner than expected.”
All eyes bored into Echo as she twirled her head around in pride. “We have new life. You will mostly be pleased. Many surprises.”
“Mostly pleased?” Kane picked up on the one thing everyone else failed to question.
“Every eco system has its inherent dangers for one species or another. I think the Womb has done well with the balance. As of now, your species will not last forever, so many of the dangers to you will become insignificant. One never knows with the Womb’s thought process.”
“Well. That doesn’t sound so peachy, Echo,” Kane complained.
“We must wait and see, Brother. Wait and see.”
“Nothing can be any more difficult than what we’ve been through already. Kenya, that means the baby will come soon,” Chloe remarked.
“Ummm, I sure will miss these massages from my little buddy here.” Kenya’s eyes glazed over, Baby’s magic doing the trick. “I just can’t think about the baby right now. I can’t imagine not lugging this monstrosity around anymore.” Her eyes snapped open, sparkling with delight and anticipation.
“Kane, you know what that means though. No more three in the bed, chickey.”
Kane blushed quick and deep. “Come on, Kenya . . . not here.”
The foursome erupted with gales of laughter, Chloe threading her arm through Scotty’s as fond glances from the other tables reminded Scotty how great it was to have a big family.
Deep in the back of his mind, a percolating thought crept forward. Maybe once they no longer lived in the Hive, maybe . . . just maybe, a little Chloe or Scotty might be just around the corner.
With the thought warming his heart, he gave Chloe a big affectionate hug, getting a dazzling confident smile for his efforts. As he focused his attention back on Daisy’s celebration, he marveled at the perfection of his relationships with his best friends. What more could a man want in life? Pushing the thought of his immortality and their eventual deaths away, Scotty partied on.
*
By morning, everyone had gathered in the wedding cavern, which would soon be converted to a staging area for materials and departure.
Daisy stood, slender and calm between Netty, Abby, and Baby. This was to be Abby’s first trip to Oolaha and everyone could see she was overjoyed and excited. Wil and Jose would remain behind to begin the process of preparing the survivors for emerging from the Hive.
Ginger Mae and Hud stood to the side, trying to keep up a pretense of happiness so as not to spoil the sendoff.
“I have a few words I would like to say before I go.” Daisy stepped forward, her pale face serene.
“I love you all so much.” She turned gravely to her mother and Hud, then to her companion of decades, Kimir; the one other person to take her leaving very hard. Everyone knew her childhood friend and later lab partner loved her deeply. But they also knew Kimir’s love would always remain unrequited. Daisy was already married to her destiny.
“I know many of you worry for me, but fear not. This step will enable me to enter the service of the Womb in a fashion that most are unable to understand. The Womb is my God and I am its servant. It is my destiny to bring its message to the cosmos; the message of harmonious life and mutual respect for all creatures. Perhaps if this planet had received such a message from one such as me so very long ago, we could have avoided so much pain.” Smiling, the tiny women that so resembled Ginger Mae’s six-year-old child of ninety years ago, slipped one hand into Abby’s and waved to the crowd.
They watched in fascination as the threesome and Baby approached the membrane-shrouded wall that had taken the bodies of those long departed. Memories dwelled briefly on their arrival in the Hive so long ago, as Barney’s stiff body was the first to disappear into the membrane.
The subsequent funerals from the Time of Seth were erased by the memories of so many happy weddings held here. And now a new memory was to be forged as they watched the travelers step up to the membrane and pass into it, before it closed around them as if they had never been there at all.
A quiet descended over the remaining survivors, the only sound the sniffles of a bereaved mother and a heart-broken Kimir.
“If no one minds, I would like to make an announcement. One that I’m sure will brighten your spirits.” Wil stepped forward, nodding to Jose to take a seat on one of the chairs that had been salvaged for wedding festivities decades ago.
When he had everyone’s attention, Wil began to speak. As he made the announcement, he surveyed the muddle of emotions. Just as he had expected, fright and terror shared the moment, along with trepidation and stubbornness. He knew they would adjust. They had to. It wouldn’t be long before all the Elders except Scotty would leave this planet along with the Hive membranes and the Kreyven. For good.
Chapter 11
It had been a full backbreaking two weeks since the survivors had learned the Earth was now habitable.
Scotty appraised the organized chaos in the cavern. Every spot was filled with building material, tools, and caskets of precious seed and books. Books everywhere. Even Caesar looked squeezed into a small space between a workbench and a stack of used lumber. Faithfully watching him as always.
He shook his head as he wondered how they would find the time to dismantle the entire collection of the Library of Congress.
“I know what you’re thinking.” Chloe stood near a stack of books. “You’ll thank me when our child has the books to learn from. What’s better than books?” She gave him the eyeball as he strode toward her slowly. “What?”
He kept coming, a small smile tugging at his lips.
“What did I say?”
He reached her side, lifting her high to hear her cackle with laughter. Setting her back down, he studied the face he knew better than his own. “I love you.”
She caught her breath, eyebrows quirked. “Well, I love you too, silly.”
A disturbance in the air announced Echo; a
uras cast. “I love you too, Sister and Brother.” Echo landed as Barney caught up, tongue hanging and dripping. She wrapped her tiny leather arms around their legs.
“Woo, watch out there, E,” Chloe warned.
“I want to be silly with you.”
Scotty and Chloe exchanged smiles. Echo was nothing if not predictable. No matter the time or the mood, the scamp wanted to be the third musketeer so badly.
The moment lost, Scotty picked up the golden furry creature. “We have work to do, Echo. We need to meet Kane and Cobby. You coming?”
“Of course, Brother. I have everything under control. We need to plan the growing field. Chloe and I are in charge of the planting. I must be in attendance.” Echo squirmed out of Scotty’s grasp. Gripping Chloe’s hand, she officiously pulled her away.
“Come, Sister Chloe. We must keep our eyes on these men so they get the plans correct.”
“Eh . . . Echo?” Scotty stood still, amusement in the curl of his lips.
Echo turned to cast her aura. “Yes, Brother Scotty?”
Scotty tried hard not to laugh, keeping a serious expression intact. Chloe followed suit. “They’re meeting us here.”
“Oh.”
If a golden furry alien with a lion tail, deadly crystal antlers, and reflective radiating gold eyes could look embarrassed, it would look like Echo. Chloe turned to the golden creature, patting her hip. In one hop, Echo sat firmly in his favorite spot, a leather arm around her neck.
“I think I need you more, Echo. I need to have you sort the seeds with me. That’s our duty, you know. The seeds are our responsibility.” Echo cast an aura, leaning back and swiveling her neck to Scotty.
“I am so sorry, Brother Scotty. But other responsibilities call. Can you go on without me?”
“I’ll do my best, Echo. I will be the first to bow to your other duties.” Scotty kept a straight face as Chloe walked away. Caesar extricated his resplendent self from the puzzle he had twisted himself in and shook himself, ready to go. He must be tired or maybe hungry today, Scotty thought, miffed.