Interstellar Ruse

by Gregoire, Cil;

  Rahlys focused on Melinda, reaching for her familiar essence, so minutely touched by Droclum. When she didn’t find it, she extended the reach, beyond the state, and even beyond the country. Melinda was undetectable. The realization stunned her. Melinda doesn’t have Leaf’s ability to throw up a shield. Something is preventing me from detecting her. Something is wrong.

  Rahlys felt the need to talk to someone, but she didn’t want to further stress out Maggie or Vince. Detecting Jack’s presence at the gift shop with Elaine, she walked straight there.

  “Rahlys!” Jack greeted with delight when she entered the shop. “What brings you to town?” Elaine was busy at the cash register helping a customer. “Is something wrong?” he asked noting Rahlys’ agitation.

  “Oh…,” Rahlys didn’t know where to start. “Can we go somewhere to talk?” she asked. Jack would make an excellent soundboard to share her thoughts with.

  “Sure… let’s step out into the glorious sunshine,” Jack suggested.

  “Yes,” Rahlys nodded in agreement.

  Jack led her to a nearby picnic table, warmed by the sun. “I take it something has happened,” he said opening the dialogue.

  “Leaf is missing,” she blurted out.

  “What? But you are the Guardian of the Light. Can’t you do …whatever it is you do… to find him?” Jack asked.

  “It’s not working this time?”

  “Huh?”

  “I think Leaf has put up a shield to prevent me from finding him.”

  “Now why would he do that?”

  “Again this is speculation, but Vince and Maggie said he asked about Melinda. I think Leaf has detected Melinda is in some kind of trouble and he is going to her to help. I can’t find Melinda either.”

  “I didn’t know Melinda could do the shield thing.”

  “She can’t.”

  “Leaf is shielding Melinda, too?”

  “No, I don’t think so. Something else is going on here.”

  “Wow,” was all Jack could say at this point. A powerless man from Earth, he had seen many wonders. Kaylya, from across the galaxy, had been like a daughter to him. Then his immersion into the Order of the Oracle had opened up another world. Suddenly he had an idea. “The painting upstairs,” he said getting excited over the possibility. “Elaine regularly enquires about Ilene’s whereabouts. Maybe it can locate Leaf for us.”

  After helping Jack up the stairs by drawing on a little magic, Jack unlocked the door. Rahlys didn’t make an issue of it, but she was a little surprised that Jack possessed a key to Elaine’s living quarters.

  As soon as they entered the apartment, the hologram crystal emerged from the painting on the wall by the door. The hologram portrait of the Oracle of Light recognized Rahlys as the artist who rendered it into being. It twirled about the Guardian of the Light in greeting.

  “It certainly seems to like you,” Jack said offhandedly closing the door. Rahlys just smiled.

  “Please, where is Leaf?” she asked the hologram, not wasting any time. Just as quick to respond, the radiant hologram went into action, zinging across the room in a comet blaze of light, sizzling out a reply.

  ALONG THE RIVER!

  As usual, short of yes and no questions, the hologram crystal’s answers were vague. “The Susitna River?” she asked for clarification. The hologram sparked.

  YES.

  “North or south of town?”

  NORTH.

  “Thanks, Jack,” Rahlys said turning to him. “You were a great help.” Then giving him a quick peck on the cheek, she disappeared.

  Vince.

  From the landmark big rock on the bank of the river not far from the foot of their trail Rahlys reached out to Vince connecting with his mind.

  Vince, Leaf is along the river.

  Rahlys detected Vince relaying the information to Grumpy George.

  “We can use my riverboat to search,” George said.

  “The sun is starting to set,” Vince pointed out, eyeing the sky. “And some clouds are moving in. Although it was still summer, night had already started its slow return.

  “We still have time,” George reassured him. The two men left the railroad tracks, turning their four-wheelers toward the river.

  Along the river under blades of dark clouds slicing up the summer sky, a blazing sunset of yellow, orange, red, and salmon silhouetting the mountain in deep purple reflected off the water. Leaf knew it would eventually get dark for a while, but then the sky would lighten again for another long Alaska summer day. Leaf wasn’t worried; he could always make glow globes.

  But Leaf was hungry. He missed out on Mommy’s lunch and now he’s missed dinner too. There were fish in the river he could draw out and he could easily make fire, but the fish were Leaf’s friends. Instead of fish, he tried to fill up on berries. Keiluk found a fish carcass left by the bears in the brushes beside the river and shared it with Raven who took his portion up in a tree where he held it against a branch with one claw while he tore it with his beak to eat it.

  Leaf was also tired and looked for a comfortable spot to take a nap. He chose a grassy spot away from the river under the shelter of some trees and lay down. After checking out the area making sure all was well, Keiluk curled up to her young master to keep him warm and safe. Raven roosted comfortably overhead in one of the trees. Soon the three companions slept peacefully.

  After connecting with Vince, Rahlys summoned Raven. If Leaf had shielded himself, and Keiluk too, against her, perhaps Raven could succeed where she couldn’t. Hearing Rahlys’ summons, Raven shook himself awake. He glanced down, turning his head, to see Leaf and Keiluk sleeping below him. Then Raven took off heading north, following Rahlys’ compelling call.

  Leaf had covered quite some distance for such a little fellow Raven realized flying over it, but soon he spotted Rahlys on the big rock by the river. “Aaaarrrk!” he called out, his deep throaty cry shattering the evening stillness.

  I need your help to find Leaf. He’s somewhere along the river. Rahlys informed him.

  Circling overhead, Raven immediately telepathed images to her of Leaf and Keiluk sleeping in the woods.

  Can you take me there? Please!

  In response, Raven flew off following the river heading south. After a distance, he paused, flying circles, until Rahlys teleported to the riverbank below. After repeating the sequence a couple times, Raven led Rahlys to the spot where Leaf and Keiluk were sleeping.

  “Aaaarrrk!” Raven squawked in surprise. The boy and dog were no longer there. Rahlys and Raven could see the indention in the grasses where they had been, but Leaf and Keiluk were gone.

  More than four thousand miles away in the Louisiana woods, darkness had long ago closed in. Sitting by her campfire, Melinda had an increasingly difficult time keeping her eyes open, adding wood to the fire and swatting mosquitoes the only things keeping her awake. But it had been a long day, and eventually she lost the battle. As her eyelids closed, storm clouds moved in.

  A flash of lightning struck the brush road followed by an explosion of thunder. Melinda bolted awake, screaming silently. Beside her, a section of the roadway burned brightly, bellowed by Droclum’s breath.

  Melinda.

  His voice felt so close, Melinda looked around expecting to see him. She stood for a better vantage point, but still she could see no one.

  Leave me alone. Melinda shivered in the warm night. Go away.

  Droclum’s wicked laugh chilled her heart.

  You’re almost there. Follow me.

  The powerful tug of the key compelled her forward. She tried to resist, stepping back, but resistance proved painful. Taking another step back, she buckled up in agony.

  Come.

  The message boomed in her head.

  “No!” Leaf shouted, materializing suddenly before her with Keiluk by his side. The burning road lit his youthful countenance, stern with determination, his red hair aflame with firelight, his emerald eyes glowed with intensity. Keiluk barked momenta
rily in confusion, but sensing she was out of her league, quieted with Leaf’s touch.

  “Leaf,” Melinda gasped, nearly inaudible. “Help me.”

  The whispery sound barely escaped Melinda’s throat. Leaf had never heard Melinda speak before and ran up to her.

  “Melinda you spoke,” he said amazed, putting his arms around her. His touch helped ease the pain.

  “Leaf! What are you doing here?” she gasped.

  Before Leaf could answer, a shattering boom of thunder accompanied another blinding flash of lightning that set another section of road on fire.

  “Follow!” a voice boomed.

  “Don’t go,” Leaf begged.

  “I have to,” Melinda cried, her whole body shuddering with the strain of resistance.

  “Then I will go with you.”

  Clutching each other tightly, they followed the burning road, Keiluk close behind them.

  CHAPTER 17

  Aaia

  Leaving Theon in Edty’s care had been extremely difficult for both Caleeza and Tassyn. Theon’s frail longevity and Edty’s simple mindedness were a frightening combination. But Caleeza needed to find Ollen. She and Ollen had both lost someone to the continent. Ollen had buried Cremyn on a hillside in the Zayla River Valley. Caleeza had lost Sarus to the Crystalline Landscape, but now they had each other.

  Caleeza was leading Tassyn through the jungle gym forest above the rushing water of the stream, when the ground tremor passed through. They managed to hold on tightly while the trees swayed. Fortunately the stout branches were able to sustain their weight. When the swaying finally stopped, several of the crawling life forms came out to investigate. Having been warned of their existence, Tassyn had enough presence of mind to knock one of the strange tubular creatures rushing toward him away, causing it to rear up on its hind end and change direction. When it collided with one of its own kind, it too did the rear end pirouette and the pair ran off, disappearing again in a tiny hole in the tree branch. It wasn’t long before all the little crawling life forms had retreated.

  Touching ground on the other side of the stream, Caleeza led Tassyn toward the growing sound of the waterfall. They advanced cautiously, not wanting to fall through any openings in the ground that may be concealed in foliage. They reached the waterfall without mishap and gazed over the edge of the cliff. Gauging her distance from the edge, Caleeza searched for the opening she had fallen through. She covered the area over and over, even tearing back the foliage that revealed nothing but solid soil and rock.

  “I met the bear beast right here,” she repeated time and again with growing frustration as Tassyn watched for a reappearance of the beast. “I was backing away from the animal when I fell through an opening in the ground. It was here. I’m telling the truth,” she said, starting to doubt herself.

  “I believe you,” Tassyn assured her. “Some things are just inexplicable.” For Tassyn much of Caleeza’s life seemed shrouded in mystery. She claimed she had vanished in an energy field from the Crystalline Landscape, appeared on Earth, and eventually returned with Sarus’s help to the land of crystals. Her sojourn to Earth had supposedly been confirmed, but the existence of Sarus as a spiritual part of the Crystalline Landscape remained a mystery. “We need to continue our search for Ollen,” he finally convinced her.

  Tassyn and Caleeza carefully picked out a safe route down the rocky cliff, dislodging a few loose stones along the way, to the bottom of the waterfall and searched the area. “Ollen, where are you?” they called out from time to time. Only their echo, bouncing off the hills, came back. Where would he have gone after going over the waterfall? Had he been injured, or worse, in the fall? So much time had passed since they had been separated. Even more puzzling in Caleeza’s mind was the disappearance of the hole she had dropped down, leading her to Chitter. Had something similar happened to Ollen? On a positive note, there was no sign of the bear beast.

  Caleeza and Tassyn covered all the ground that she and Ollen had traveled, and beyond, without finding a trace of him. “Maybe we should leave the stream and search inland,” Caleeza suggested after they had covered a great distance. Tassyn thought about it before speaking.

  “I think Ollen would follow the stream …to look for you …looking for him.” At least he hoped that was the case. “He would also want to see where the water flows to,” Tassyn added. The stream would have to eventually, somehow, make it out to the sea, he reasoned. They continued following the stream for some time in silence.

  “Perhaps we should consider making camp,” Tassyn suggested after they had trekked many leagues without resting. The sun had already dropped behind the mountain ridge. Soon they would be entering another long period of darkness, lit only by Seaa and the more distant stars.

  “Alright,” Caleeza finally relented. The low rocky hillside that followed the stream most of the way, curved away from the bank here, opening up into an area of low brush and small trees. It would provide a good sheltered spot for camping. They dropped their packs a short distance from the stream in the shelter of the trees.

  “Look!” Caleeza cried suddenly, excitement mounting. “There’s been a campfire here before,” she said rushing up to the bits of charred wood surrounded by stones. “And there’s his pack! Ollen is here.” Evidence was clear.

  “That’s a positive sign,” Tassyn agreed. “He must be around here somewhere. His pack is here so he will be back,” he assured her.

  “Ollen! Where are you?” Caleeza called out, half expecting him to reveal his presence. There was still no response.

  “I’ll gather wood for a fire,” she said disappointed. “If I sit and rest first I might not want to get back up.”

  Tassyn smiled; he felt just as exhausted. “I’ll help you. It won’t take long to gather enough firewood to make tea.” While scouring the ground for dead wood, Tassyn looked up toward the hillside, noting an anomaly. A large swath of the growth on the hillside looked like it had been torn away. “I wonder what happened over there?” he said dropping the wood he had collected by the fire ring and walking in that direction.

  Caleeza automatically followed him. “The ground tremor must have triggered a landslide.”

  Upon arriving at the location, it was clear there had been a recent slide. A jumble of rock, dirt, and uprooted brush with wilted leaves formed a tangled mound at the foot of the hill. Sticking out of the pile, partly covered with debris, lay a human body.

  Kiril’s survival of a precarious situation unified the spirit of the colonists even more. Together they would make it. No one doubted their survival as a group depended on their collective efforts, and their individual survival depended on the sound thinking of each and every one of them. The celebration though was short lived as Rojaire and Traevus explained there was a long way yet to go before they would be above ground once again.

  “My main concern is there could be more ground tremors,” Rojaire said. “The sooner we get through the underground passage of caverns and lava tubes the better.”

  “Well, I’m all for reaching fresh air; let’s go,” Captain Setas croaked and donning her light pack, she ambled onward. “I assume we go this way,” she called over her shoulder.

  “That woman sure has spunk,” Kaylya said with admiration, attaching herself to her own heavier pack.

  In many ways, the passage through the caverns proved harder going than in the lava tubes. There was no clear path to follow. Most of the string of caverns were wide enough to be considered spacious and the ceilings high enough to stand in, but occasionally it was necessary to crawl through narrow spaces, taxing the colonists even more. The irregular cave floor presented endless obstacles and challenges, but offered beauty as well. Veins of gold, crystal, and gemstones reflected back the light of their lamps.

  Finally after having pushed the group to their limit, Rojaire, just as tired, called for a rest. “Get some sleep,” is all he said. After a meal of dried foods, the weary travelers extinguished their lamps and slept.

 
; It was another ground tremor that rudely woke them up. Fortunately the tremor didn’t amount to much, but since they were now awake, they decided as a group to push on.

  “I can’t wait to see the light of day again or even the light of night,” Drak said working his way around stalactites and stalagmites that formed a barrier of columns.

  “Is it day or night in the world above us?” Zaloka asked wondering. “I’ve lost track of time.”

  “By my calculations, it is still light out,” Inventor Sulyan said.

  “How do you figure that?” Wessid asked with interest.

  “Well, you see, I’ve developed a device,” Sulyan said pulling it out of one of his numerous vest pouches, “that measures increments of time and according to this, the sun should be setting about now.”

  “A clock,” Ilene said after Kaylya’s translation.

  “We have similar devices on Twaka,” Thayla added.

  “But the sun was setting when we entered the underground passage,” Ilene said amazed. “It seems like we have been down here longer than that. Has it only been six days?”

  “No, dear, it’s only been one,” Zaloka corrected after Kaylya’s translation.

  “She meant Earth-days,” Kaylya explained. “A day on Earth is very short.”

  “This is the last cave,” Traevus announced encouragingly when they entered the watery cavern at the end of the line. “The rest of the trip is by lava tube.”

  “I hope that’s good news,” Captain Setas moaned, dropping her pack and easing her tired body down on a mineral encrusted rock.

  “We are closer to our destination. The news you might not want to hear is this; we have to climb up before we can go forward,” Rojaire informed her turning and pointing to a jagged sloping rock wall. “But that will only be a minor inconvenience.”

  “I’m guessing we will be making good use of the rope again,” Traevus grinned.

  “We went down before,” Setas said after some thought. “Up actually sounds encouraging.”