"In the caves," Jeff answered.
"The caves?" the frightened Milgic asked.
"Yea, the caves. Don't worry, I'll be with you. Has anyone seen Lori?"
"She's with the females, gathering flowers, and then they are making lunch."
"I need to talk her about the ceremony with the Hodiku. Take the berries over to the kettle there and begin crushing them down. Is this week enough time to ferment the berry juice?"
"Not really, but it'll have to do," Milgic said. "It won't be as strong as it usual though."
Jeff left his two friends with four other male Lingworts to crush the berries down with round wooden mashers in the big black kettle. It was boiled down to a liquid, allowed to cool, and then covered with bamboo branches, and placed in a cavern to ferment for the week.
Lori just finished selecting the flowers they were to use for the ceremony, as Jeff approached her and the female Lingworts who were entering the village. He walked over to his fiancé and gave her a quick kiss on the lips. The Lingworts always thought this was a strange custom; they usually had a short courtship ceremony and then the female would go to the pond to lay her eggs. After the young were born, they would then be initiated in the tribe.
Hello, Love," Jeff said "How's your day so far?"
"Wonderful, just wonderful," she answered, and took a deep breath. "I've found some beautiful flowers for the wedding."
One of the other humans with her, named Mary, held a bunch of exotic jungle flowers in her hand. She was a thin woman, in her thirties, five feet four inches tall, with dark brown hair and brown eyes. Her face and complexion suggested that she could have been from Native American dissent, even though Earth was just a moment of history in a distant past they were never part of.
"No roses, Lilies, or Baby's Breath," she said. "But I did find some hibiscus blossoms, some Jarcada flowers, Antherians, Ginger plants, and Proteas."
"That's wonderful, Mary," Jeff said. "Listen, we have to go to the Hodiku's hut and discuss the ceremony with him. Mary, do you mind if I pull the bride away for a little while?"
"Not at all," she said. "There's enough of us to put the arrangements together. We'll catch up with you two closer to dinner."
They walked over to the Hodiku's hut. Jeff announced his presence, and the medicine chief allowed the couple to enter. "Hello, Karaku," Jeff said.
"Good morning, Master Jeff," the lingwort said. He wore several layers of shell necklaces around his neck, and a flower woven headband. He sat cross-legged on the floor of the hut. "Are you ready for the Aduku -Corlea?"
They knew this as the pre-ceremony blessing from him and the gods of the island.
"We are," the two of them said as they smiled at each other.
"Very well," he said, as he reached his arm to each of them. They sat down and joined hands to make a circle, and he began his incantation. "Garla reduku varlu warla hawa irla hawar jalaba ula irla torka." He then placed one of his necklaces on each one of them. "Garla reduku fala hawa dalada cola." He touched them both on the forehead, and prayed silently. "It is done," he announced. "The gods are pleased with you. You may now go in peace and tranquility."
They rose from the floor.
"Thank you," Jeff said. "Tell the gods that I am forever in their debt." They then left the hut, as Lori turned towards her future husband.
"What did he say," she asked.
"He asked the gods to bless us and protect us and keep us from harm. Why don't you go do whatever else you have to do, and I'll meet up with you later. I have to grab Milgic and head over to the caves. We've got something we have to do there."
"You be careful," she said. "I still feel a little uneasy about that side of the island."
"We've been through this before," Jeff said. "There is nothing there but rubble and twisted metal."
"Are you sure the lab was destroyed? All that it takes is one frozen embryo and they can rejuvenate their whole species."
"Stop worrying," Jeff told her. "The Republic is watching over us. I'll be back before dinner."
He kissed her quickly on the lips, and then walked over to Milgic, who was with the other males finishing the mashing of the berries. Milgic stopped, and grabbed his spear. A human male with light blonde hair and green eyes, also agreed to join them.
"Ready to go, Jeff?" he asked, and grabbed his spear as well.
Jeff kept the lasers locked in a case in his hut; he didn't want them to be exposed to the violence that happened before on the island.
"Yea, George, I'm ready." Jeff grabbed a bow, flung it over his shoulder, and grabbed some arrows, placing them in his arm bag. They each grabbed a canteen, and the three of them followed the path into the jungle. It was at least a mile and a half to where the caves were, and it was getting very warm and muggy in the labyrinth of trees, vines and ferns. About three hours later, they reached the far side of the island.
An eerie feeling came over Milgic again, the same one as before. He felt uncomfortable here; it was a painful reminder of the past. Jeff told him before that he needed to face his fears, and today would have to be reckoning day for him.
They passed the gojo berry patches and continued down the path, until they came to the cavern entrance. Jeff was first confronted here by Balta, that evil one-eyed, murderous, monster of a being who killed without a bit of remorse.
"I hate this place," Milgic belted, and stabbed the tip of his spear into the ground.
"There's nothing to fear," Jeff reminded him. "They've been gone a long time now. George and I checked this place over months ago. Come on, let's go, before it gets dark."
George passed Milgic, entering first, and then Jeff gestured for his friend to follow. He proceeded, although reluctant, he was compliant in the end. He kept his spear upright, but ready to use it if he had to. George turned on his solar flashlight, and Jeff and Milgic followed behind him.
"I believe the highest concentration of diamonds were closer to the old main control center," George stated.
"Agreed," Jeff said, as they walked into what was left of a long cylindrical tunnel, which led into the former underground Tolarion base.
Jeff remembered this entrance well; it was where they first realized they were no longer alone on the island. When they reached the end, they walked down a half-pulverized corridor. Jeff stopped when they passed what was left of the lab. "Wait," he said, and walked over to the busted table in the middle. He surveyed the room, and looked to see if there was any evidence of restoration of the cloning process; partly to satisfy Lori's curiosity, and part to satisfy his own. As he did, he saw the acid stain on the floor where he struck Balta's hand with one of the glass containers in the room. Convinced that nothing changed since the incident, he decided they should move on.
They came to where the main control center once was. Since there were no stairs to get down, George lowered a rope to the floor. Jeff gave Milgic the flashlight, and then turned to his human companion. "Any sign of trouble, get out of here and warn the others," he told him. "Just because there hasn't been activity in the past doesn't mean they wouldn't come back."
"That's what I like best about you, Jeff," George laughed. "You're always on the defensive!"
"Believe me, if you've been through what I have, you'd be the same way!"
Milgic held the light so Jeff could lower himself down the twelve feet to the floor. Milgic followed, and George stayed in the doorway holding the rope, while Jeff looked for the diamond amongst the rubble. As Milgic shone the light, they could see the fragmented computer parts scattered across the floor of the complex. Towards the west wall there was a portion of the cavern that was blown away, which revealed a treasure trove of minerals; including sapphire, rubies, quartz, and yes, diamonds. The humans knew they really had no value other than jewelry; there was no money system here, only bartering.
They walked over to it, Milgic held the light, and Jeff looked through some of the loose minerals trying to find a suitable sized diamond.
"Have
you ever thought of why the Tolarions brought you here, instead of somewhere else?" Milgic asked.
"They had a base here," Jeff answered. "When they came here, they left me for dead. Balta told me so himself. I was brought in the wormhole with them. Why do you ask?"
"Just wondering, " Milgic said. "If they hadn't, we never would have met you."
"Well, thanks, Milgic-"
"And none of this would have happened."
"Oh," Jeff sighed, and continued his search.
"It's not that I'm not glad you came here. I just wish you hadn't brought them with you."
"They brought me, remember?" He found a diamond about a quarter of an inch, and held it in the flashlight's beam as it sparkled. "This one will be perfect."
He rose to his feet and placed it in his pocket. They started to walk back towards where George was, when they heard a sound. Jeff turned, only to witness a large rat who rummaged through the rubble in search of food.
To Milgic it was just another painful reminder of what happened two years ago. He still could feel the roughness on his leg where the Tolarions burned him. He ran towards the ship when he was blasted in the leg by the laser beam. In his mind, he could still feel the burning and extreme pain that he endured from it. That was the past, however, and he was glad that both Jeff and Zarcon were there for him.
They climbed back up the rope, and George helped them back into the dilapidated corridor.
"Seems a waste," he said. "What we could have learned from their technology."
"Their technology was Avery's technology," Jeff stated. "And it died with him."
"It's still a waste. Think about how it could have changed space travel for humans."
"In a sense it did," Jeff replied. "Just not the way we would have hoped. We better get going."
They exited the remains of the complex, and walked back on the jungle path. It was late in the afternoon, and they knew if they wanted to get back before dark, they would have to hustle. They began a steady trot through the jungle, being careful not to trip over vines or some wild animal that might cross their path. They were about halfway, when Milgic began to smell something close to them.
"Stop," he yelled to the others. They turned around to face him.
"What is it?" George asked.
"I smelled something, and I hear it moving," Milgic said. "Something large, over that way. He pointed in the jungle to the east.
"Move slowly," Jeff said. "Keep your spears ready." He pulled out his hunting knife and walked ahead of them, as he began to hear it as well. He then saw the bushes quickly move closer and closer to them, as a striped figure appeared out of the camouflaged terrain. "Run! Tiger!"
The others ran ahead of him, and he kept his spear ready to throw. The tiger approached him, and prepared to leap. Jeff threw the spear in haste, and he missed his target. The large striped cat pounced on him, sinking his right front claw into Jeff's leg.
"Jeff!" Milgic yelled back, and threw his spear as well, and just missed the tiger by inches. Jeff lunged his knife several times at the beast while it tried to bite him. When it pounced directly at him, Jeff was on his back, and held the knife directly upright into the cat's stomach. He twisted it, and the animal fell dead next to him. It was about as close and personal to a tiger that he ever wanted to get.
George and Milgic ran back to help their friend.
"Are you okay?" Milgic asked, as he looked at Jeff's red, bloody leg. George pulled out a cloth, bent over, and wrapped it around Jeff's wound.
"Yea," Jeff said. "Looks like I got a puncture wound from his claw. It looks worse than it actually feels. Lucky he didn't hit my artery."
"At any rate, you're going to walk with a limp for a while," George said. "Let me help you up."
He and Milgic lifted Jeff to his feet, and Jeff placed his left arm around George's shoulder. He limped his way back towards the village, as Milgic kept looking back at the dead tiger, for fear that there might be an ounce of breath left in its soul, and come up from behind them to attack again.
CHAPTER FIVE
After they brought Jeff back, they laid him down in his hut, and one of the human woman stitched his wound with a needle and black thread. The Republic left them some medical supplies, but most of the items such as bandages and pain killers were almost gone. George told him to stay off it for a couple days, and he agreed, even though he still wanted to melt the gold down and set the diamond in it. He loved Lori for a long time, and pain or not, he wanted to make the rings as close to real ones as he could.
Later that week, he started to walk, but with a slight limp and a tolerable, but uncomfortable pain where the cat poked him. When he awoke on Thursday morning, he grabbed the sand and clay mold for the rings; the medal to melt, placed his knife in his belt, and headed towards a large secluded clearing. George, Dormiton and Milgic were heating a small iron kettle made from scraps of Jeff's old ship's escape pod, using a crude form of a mixture, containing wood, volcanic rocks and natural graphite. Jeff dropped the medal in the pot, the rocks burned intensely below the fire, the gold melted within about ten minutes, and the kettle grew bright red.
"Dormiton, could you grab that long metal ladle over there?" he asked. He turned to George. "I just want to get this week over with."
He grabbed the ladle, and placed the molds on the ground. Jeff dipped the ladle in the liquefied gold, and then poured it into each of the molds.
"You make it sound like a death sentence," George quipped.
"I don't mean it that way," Jeff explained. "I just mean things will be back to normal." He then poured the rest of gold into another empty clay box, forming a three inch by three inch square bar. "Now all we have to do is leave it and let it cool."
"It won't be normal for you anymore," George laughed. "You'll be married!"
"Okay, okay," Jeff said. "Dormiton, can you two watch this fire until it goes out?"
"Yes, Jeff," his amphibian friend said. "How are you going to put the diamond on her ring?"
"I'll use some of the sap from an Acacia tree as glue. It should set overnight, after the gold cools. It won't be perfect, but it should hold."
"Another thing we have to do today?" Milgic whined.
"I'll take care of it," George stated. "I'll make you some glue by dinner. Maybe you could use a little with dinner, Milgic? Maybe then, you'll stop complaining."
"Very funny," Milgic sneered.
"Just make sure the fire's out," Jeff said. "And be careful coming back to the village. We don't need any more tiger attacks. Leave the molds, I'll pick them up later."
By dinner time, Jeff picked up the molds, and the lingworts already returned to the village. Jeff carefully pried the rings of the molds out of their casing. As he examined them, he could see there were little marks on the rings where the vines left an impression in the clay. They used these to measure the size of their fingers. Jeff actually thought they were rather decorative for being so primitive. He then took Lori's band and carefully applied some of the glue George just finished making. He squeezed the diamond tight against the band until it held, and then set it on his dresser to dry.
Dinner consisted of the usual: fish, berries, bananas, coconuts, kiwis, pineapple, and vegetables, such as corn, summer squash, and sweet potatoes. George captured a couple of large birds, similar to cassowary, and roasted them over the open fire. It didn't taste like chicken; it was more like wild turkey. It was customary for the males to eat before the females, who served them first, then ate afterwards. The children ate with the women as well.
After dinner, the males gathered around the fire for the pre- ceremony bonding, similar to a bachelor party. Jeff came from his hut carrying four bottles of green liquid. "A gift from the Talokians," he announced to the crowd of 10 humans and 20 lingworts. "I don't know what it is, but it's got a hell of a kick." He passed the bottles around the crowd, and everyone poured themselves a glass.
"A toast," George said. "To Jeff and Lori. May their new life together be fu
ll of happiness, hope, and love. And may Jeff not get too domesticated, we'll miss him."
"Maybe I should have made you my best man," Jeff quipped. Everyone laughed and cheered, then drank from their cups, except for Dormiton who had a troubled look on his face.
"What does he mean by that?" he asked George.
"He's just joking. He just means that I make a good toast."
"I don't understand," Dormiton said.
"It's customary for the best man to make a comment about the bride and groom after the wedding. Usually it is something nice."
"We usually just drink wine and wish them for many offspring. Then we dance the ceremonial dance before the mating ritual. The more I'm around you humans, the less I understand you."
"The ceremonial dance, huh? You'll have to teach me that one. Just relax, and you'll do fine. Just think of something nice to say."
Dormiton shook his head and drank down the bitter drink, as the taste made him grimace. "This stuff is horrible," he said.
"You're not supposed to like the taste," Jeff stated, as he chuckled. "It's just supposed to make you feel good."
"If I drink too much more of this stuff, I won't feel so good."
Jeff laughed, and poured himself another drink.
"Not me," Jeff said. "Tonight I'm going to drink like I haven't got a care in the world, except Lori, of course."
Dormiton smiled, but he really didn't feel easy about the whole situation. He couldn't help but feel a sense of fear in his mind, and from the way Milgic was acting, he knew he felt it too. He sensed it before, on Zebula, when Jeff came up missing, and the Talokians captured him, and also sensed it here, just before they came face to face with Balta and his army. Something was going to happen, he just didn't know what, and he couldn't pretend like he didn't have a care in the world. The tiger incident reassured him that even in this warm paradise, there were forces he had no control over. He decided to make it an early night, and think about what he was going to say on Saturday.
Dimension Lapse II: Return to Doomsday (Dimension Lapse Series Book 2) Page 6