“Scotty’s gone. The flamer attacked Caesar, lifting him into the air. He was too heavy . . . the monster dropped him. He was dying, so Scotty healed him. We . . . we weren’t paying attention. The flamer came back . . . grabbed Scotty. He didn’t have a chance.” Chloe’s heart-rendering story came out between her sobs. She reached into her cloth bag and removed the golden feathers, crushing them to her heart, as she recounted the rest of the tragedy to the survivors.
“I couldn’t kill them. They were innocent. Their mother was just trying to live the life the Womb gave them.” She looked up at the survivors for condemnation. None came.
“I’m sorry,” she whispered.
More tears were shed as they turned to Abby, who stood crying in Jose’s arms, Netty and Wil hovering in the background. Chloe stood and held her arms out to Abby. The two women slowly embraced, sharing the pain of the death of the man they both loved so deeply.
“Where’s Echo? I need to talk to her very badly.” Chloe’s voice was tight, repressed anger focusing on the missing minion.
“She hasn’t returned,” said Abby.
Chloe opened her mouth to speak as the ground began to shake.
Abruptly, the earth burst open to announce the Kreyven, menacingly silent with streaks of light flashing through its gelatinous mass and emanating its identifiable odor of sulfur and raw organicness.
Swiftly, the Kreyven rose up in the air to hover over Netty and Chloe, dipping down to wind around one then the other. Before anyone could shout out, the Kreyven rose back in the air, Netty calm and Chloe straining, her fists pounding on the unfeeling mass. Then they were gone; sucked back down the hole in the ground as if they had never been there to begin with.
Chapter 18
Baby fluttered to the ground, tired and discouraged. Not finding Barney had displeased him. It had been a full day and night since he had set out to help Brother Scotty and Sister Chloe locate Sister Echo’s treasure.
Deciding to walk for a while, Baby shuffled along a slight, beaten path; the stamped weeds revealing the rich red color of the soil. As Baby traversed the pathway, he reflected on the surprise that a mere dog could feel the power of rejection. It had been surprising enough to discover that Tobi and her elephant herd contained as many emotions in their brains as humans. Perhaps he should study the canines further.
He made a metal note to forward recommendations to the Womb. Echo was another matter. Perhaps it was the difference in their ages. Echo was still a mere babe, but should have known better by now. Baby nodded to himself. Well, maybe not. This was her first new world, after all. She could not be expected to realize a minion never leaves their charges or their partners on a new world. Too dangerous.
Perhaps the recommendation to the Womb had been a mistake. But he had thought the noogies would be a fitting choice for this new world. He had forgotten to factor in their shared memories. Of course Echo would have had an instantaneous attraction and fondness for the creatures. They were the favorite of minions everywhere.
But where did that leave Echo’s poor rejected love, Barney?
Baby stopped to send his aura out to Brother Scotty to check on their progress. At this distance, only an Elder could hear his aura. An Elder with a close bond. Like the one he had with Sister Netty.
For some reason, he could find neither one. Baby rubbed his temples and tapped on the bridge of his nose. Trying again, he cast his aura. Maybe his relationship with Brother Scotty needed some work. Nothing. Reaching out to Sister Netty would produce results, but he feared she was nowhere on the planet. He had felt sure she would not leave without him.
Baby shivered as he suddenly felt small and lost without Sister. He wanted to go back and be with her.
Rounding a bend in the pathway, Baby came up with a start. Lying in the dirt were the bodies of three human women. The dirt surrounding them contained pools of their lifeblood.
The sight was so unexpected, Baby’s mind spun. Could it be? He moved forward to examine the women, searching for signs that their deaths were not caused by man. Praying it was the work of a natural, hungry creature.
No luck. It was clear to Baby the damage had been wrought by another human. Only Homo sapiens killed for pleasure without eating the kill. His heart sank. This was very bad news. The Womb was sure to know of this by now. If humans wanted to kill themselves, so be it. But Baby’s nerves turned to ice with the knowledge that a killer did not stop with one species.
He must hurry and find Barney. There would be a grave need for preparations. He must get back to the Hive as soon as possible.
Shuffling around the Sisters he saw footprints that had stepped in the life blood. Large footprints, and many of them.
No. Oh dear, no. Three smaller prints revealed themselves, clear as could be seen. A small dog . . . Barney.
He must have followed the new Sisters’ trail after they had left the settlement. It would be natural for the rejected canine to seek out another source for attention, thought Baby.
Plowing forward, Baby skirted the body of the tall Sister, who sat apart in a pool of drying blood, her arm hacked off and missing.
Trying again, Baby sent his aura out to Brother Scotty and Sister Netty only to be met with a blank. Taking to the sky, Baby followed the pathway, hoping it would lead him to Barney and a quick trip back to the Hive.
*
Baby sat atop a flat roof near the square where most of the humans surrounded a small stage. A Brother was waving part of an arm in the air, screaming at the people who watched, Brothers cheering and Sisters adorned with fearful expressions.
As the Brother turned, Baby saw him wave his own arms. One arm ended in a fused and withered claw. Brother Seth; the quiet brooding sibling of the tall Sister. Could it be possible? Could he have killed the tall Sister?
Scanning the crowd, Baby’s eyes latched on to a group of men off to the side. At their feet sat Barney, tied tightly to a large metal contraption the men leaned on. The contraption exhibited a projectile with a sharp, evil-looking, hooked end pointed toward his hiding place. Clearly a weapon of some sort.
Baby’s antlers began to swirl, red and black streaks moving in rhythm as he devised a way to rescue Barney without involving the humans. They were no concern of his. But he knew full well if the need to protect himself arose, the humans wouldn’t stand a chance.
Tentatively, his aura reached out to Barney. He watched as the dog startled then jumped, giving a ferocious show of enthusiastic barking. He sent another aura to calm the aroused dog as one of the Brothers kicked him viciously in the ribs.
As Baby witnessed the Brother laugh at Barney lying unmoving in the dirt, his anger escalated, his antlers flashing.
Stay calm, my little friend, I am here to take you back to Sister Echo.
Barney whined, his tail thumping as he looked toward Baby’s rooftop.
“Hey. What’s that? Up there on the roof. That light?” The humans turned to look as someone spotted Baby’s swirling antlers, backlit by the sun and casting refractions down to the crowd.
Brothers ran toward the building even as Baby squatted down, his heart pumping madly. No time, I must act now.
Taking to the air, Baby flew toward Barney; his tail held high, extruding his healing membrane to send its pressure to the dog’s injured ribs. He split an antler, sending a projectile to devour the restraints that bound the dog.
“Get ready to run Bar—” Baby felt something slam into him. It plowed through his chest and shoulder, pulling him from the sky to crash soundly to the ground, landing a few feet in front of the now healed and free Barney.
The last thing Baby saw was Barney being tossed into a makeshift cage as the evil Brother called to Brother Seth, who stood frozen on the stage. Darkness slowly descended on the ancient, brave Oolahan.
*
Seth jumped from the stage, his astonishment galvanizing him into action.
“Are you kidding me?” The tribe crowded in to see the strange creature which had fall
en from the sky. Shouts of ‘be careful’, ‘is it dead?’, ‘stomp on it’, rang from the clan.
Seth fell to his knees in front of the golden creature. He turned with annoyance to the crowd. “Boys, can you give me some room?” His arms waved them back as he barked instructions.
“Andrew, get me a sack. Cut the harpoon off from the gun. No. From the gun. I want to leave the harpoon in the creature.”
Within a few minutes, a sack appeared. They slid it carefully under Baby, wiping iridescent green fluid from their fingers with distaste.
“Is it dead?” Andrew peered over Seth’s shoulder.
“I don’t think so. It’s still warm. It must have missed his heart. We need this sucker alive. It’s our new ticket to power. We can negotiate our way into some goodies with this thing.” Seth scanned his men’s eager faces.
“And we still have the dog. The other creature will be interested in him if this one dies. I’m going to force them to fix it so our babies can be born again. They must know the secret. They all have babies. Get them loaded on the wagon.”
Seth’s men dumped the harpoon gun to the ground with a crash. Lifting Barney’s cage, they placed it in the center of the wagon, dumping the awkward sack containing Baby and the deadly harpoon next to the frightened dog.
Andrew slithered over to Seth. “I don’t think your relatives will be too happy with what we did to their creature. I don’t think this was a good idea, sweetie.”
Seth fixed him with a glacial stare. “I didn’t ask for your opinion, now did I, Andrew? For your information, I don’t intend to tell them we did it. I’ll tell em we found the dog and graciously returned him home. The winged creature was on the verge of being eaten by the flamer. When Lorna ordered the flamer shot, she missed and hit the creature, allowing the flamer to carry it off. There was nothing we could do.”
Seth hung his head mournfully while shooting a vulpine smirk to Andrew. Clapping his hands together and giving a quick hop, Andrew leaned in for a kiss.
“Not here you fool.” Seth stepped back with displeasure, glancing around. “If you can’t contain yourself, you can stay here. I don’t need you to dispel my conquering hero persona when the tribe awards me the position of leader for discovering the Others’ secret to childbirth. That, dear Andrew, is why we need to go back there. I now have a bigger justification to demand the tribe follow me. Furthermore, it’s my birthright. Announcing that Lorna planned to steal the women and take them to her relatives took care of that obstacle neatly. You saw how worked up the men were.”
“Yes, Seth. But the tribal women . . . they didn’t appear convinced.”
Seth waved him off. “Piff . . . Just watch them fall to their knees when I tell em they can have children again. The stupid bitches won’t be a problem. Now go pack, I want to be gone.”
Seth returned to the hustle and bustle of departure, glancing at the wagon to see Barney huddled and shivering on the floor of his cage. His deformed hand, hidden deep in his pocket, tingled.
*
They had been on the road no more than half a day when they began to spot wildlife, first deer and then birds. As they noticed the phenomena, they paid more attention, spotting a few turtles, rabbits and other vermin.
One of the men speared the biggest turtle ever imagined. It must have weighed fifty pounds with its shell.
“Good meat tonight,” he bragged, his yellow teeth showing empty holes.
“I don’t believe I’ve ever tasted meat before,” another commented. “Are you sure it’s okay to eat?”
Seth’s man pulled out the limp head, stretching the long neck. In one chop, he sliced it off and tossed it to the other man who jumped back in surprise.
The noble turtle’s head lay in the dust and the weeds as the men cackled and mashed it into the grass with their shabby boots, before moving on.
As evening approached, they set up camp and built a fire to cook the turtle meat. In the last hour alone they had been forced to take cover as lions, bears, camels and wild horses joined them on the path. They could hear all manner of beasts tromping and snorting their way through the underbrush out of sight.
Seth dismissed his first sensations of alarm. A growing impression had overtaken him within hours of the first sightings.
The animals were all traveling in the same general direction. The same direction they were going. He glanced back at the bundle on the wagon. Could the creature be calling them in hopes of escape? Naaa, that weird dude could barely breathe. At least he hoped the thing was breathing. It was hard to tell.
Seth spotted one of his men tending the fire.
“Build it up high, Booney. We need some protection tonight. And don’t forget it’s flamer season.”
Booney kicked at the fire with his boot, sending sparks wafting high in the dusk.
“Sompin’s not right with them animals, boss. Not a one seems to be in a hurry. And they don’t even seem to notice us. Aren’t lions supposed to hunt in the dark? You can bet I’m keeping one eye open tonight and Momma here tucked in with me.” He patted his rifle.
Seth felt another twinge of unease. He had noticed the same thing, but had kept it to himself while he pondered on the why.
“When you get around to it, Booney, gather up another man and bring that sack over to me. I want to see if it’s still alive.”
“Why, we gunna cook it too?” He glanced over to the other men busy with their bedrolls.
“Tell Whop he’s got another hunk a meat to skin.”
The men crowded in. "We gonna have more meat, boss?”
“Can someone just bring me the sack? If it’s dead, you can have it. Not much point luggin’ a dead hunk a meat around. And I must say, fruit and dried vegetables are tasty, but I would sure love to try some meat. Who even knew we could kill these big boys so easy?”
With agreement from his men, he continued, “I think we’ll do some killing on the way back. I’d like to get me one a those deer, and a big cat. I have dibs on the head, is that clear? We need something to celebrate with when we tell the tribe our good news.”
“Here ya go, Seth. There’s not enough left on this carcass to make it worth skinning.” Whop dropped the cumbersome sack on the ground, peeling back the cover and pulling Baby out by a shriveled leg.
The harpoon remained embedded halfway between Baby’s chest and his shoulder. There wasn’t much left of him. His chest was caved in, sunken and emaciated, his limbs puckered and desiccated. Even his fur lay flat and matted, dried fluid coagulating around the harpoon’s entry point, strangely iridescent in the approaching darkness.
Seth placed his hand on the creature’s chest, feeling nothing. No warmth, no heartbeat. Does it even have a heart like we do? Seth wondered.
He leaned in, placing his ear to the creature’s chest, his hands still in place as he listened. Nothing, it must be dead.
Pulling back he eyed the creature again.
“What the—?” Pushing himself back, he scrambled with his feet, giving a swift kick to the creature.
“What is it, boss?”
Seth’s mouth dropped. The creature’s chest now looked rounded and firm, its legs supple and healthy. Its eyes snapped open, golden luminance lighting up the camp.
From above, the men heard a soft fluttering. Seth felt his stomach turn over as he slowly turned and glanced overhead. His face drained of all color as his bowels released.
“Holy shit!”
Chapter 19
Ginger Mae sat with Dezi in the kitchen feeling every bone in her body ache. Welcome to the real world, she thought ironically.
“How you feeling, Dez?”
He dropped the bowl in his hand and turned to face her at the table with a mournful sigh. “Oh, babe. I don’t know how we can go on. Everyone’s exhausted from the stress, no one eats, no one sleeps.” He nodded over to Father Garcia and Maddy tending the infants, Netty’s three-year-old, Maya, petulant and cranky. She missed her mother. “They’re the only ones that get any sle
ep. The sleep of babes . . .”
His face had aged. Ginger Mae had noticed the trait in many of the survivors, Scotty’s death a difficult blow to recover from. He had been close to so many. Kane had not even spoken since Chloe had disappeared. And Abby couldn’t stop crying, Jose helpless as a third thumb as usual.
It had been two days since Chloe and Netty had disappeared with no explanation. To compound things, Echo, Baby and Barney remained missing. No one knew what to make of it.
And if that wasn’t enough, the morning before had started what would become an incredible sight, frightening in its ambiguity.
The animals were returning to the Hive. Not just their animals. All the animals. Ginger Mae had first laughed with Daisy when they saw the first troupe of rabbits walking on hind legs like a man, up the hill to the Hive as if on their way to the cinema.
The moment had passed quickly as the ominous overtones became apparent. Slow and steady, heads down, they all came. In groups, single, flying, plodding.
“How’s Bonnie making out with Tobi?” Dezi sat next to Ginger Mae, dropping his small spice box at his side.
She shook her head disconsolately. “Not well. No matter what she does, Tobi wants to move the herd inside. Peter just wants her out of the way. But you can’t stop an elephant when she wants something. It’s going to break Bonnie’s heart.”
Dezi knitted his eyebrows. “She can go in the Hive to visit. What’s the big deal?”
Ginger Mae gave a start. “You haven’t heard?” She raked her short bob back with her fingers to hide her tremor. Lowering her voice, she whispered, “Wil told Hud the animals are going right into the membrane. Through the membrane.”
Dezi blanched. “Eeww. That’s not good. I don’t like the sound of that, babe.”
Ginger Mae looked around, the other survivors were out of earshot. “I don’t think Wil and Hud want anyone else to know yet.” She reached out for his hand and squeezed tight. “What can we do?”
He drummed his nails on the table, shaking his head. “Nutin we can do. It’s not like someone’s gunna drop a bomb anymore.”