Of Salt and Sand

by Barnes, Michael

  He was okay then? She nearly sobbed with relief. She felt his hand rest on hers. But then . . . no? It wasn’t Sam’s hand? Now two long arms wrapped themselves tightly around her, and a head rested gently on her shoulder. She heard someone crying softly. It was Jacob! Jessie fought to get her heavy eyes open. She felt Jacob helping her, tenderly.

  “It’s okay, Jessie,” he comforted. “Everything is fine now. You’re okay, and so is Sam.”

  She blinked and eyed her surroundings. As her vision and head cleared, she began to return to reality—and reality never looked so strange! Everywhere her eyes settled, were flowers. Flowers, trees, tall waving grasses and cascading waterfalls. Was she dead? Then she craned her neck upward. There, high above her was the great glass dome, and instantly she realized where she was: Gracie’s solarium! Jessie turned a fearful lock on Jacob. “I’m in the solarium!” she gasped.

  “It’s okay,” Jacob eased. He carefully took her arm and turned her around. Now she could see the white-marbled edge of the patio’s first tier. She had only made one quick sweep when her eyes suddenly caught movement. That’s when she saw them: four individuals standing next her. Each one’s gaze was intently locked on her, and deep concern was profound on all faces. She knew them . . . nearly all of them. There was Ruthanne and Ellen, and another young man she could only assume to be Eli. But where was Sam?

  “Well done, Three-Of-Ten! Well done!” came Gracie’s voice from across the stream. Her tone was shaken, and emotionally altered.

  Jessie turned instantly and spotted the small figure on a type of patio which stretched out over a fantastic pool of crystal clear water. Gracie started to wave at her, but hesitated, still unsure that Jessie had regained her full senses.

  The patio where the woman sat was an extension of a great extensive courtyard inside the solarium. It was punctuated in white-marble pillars and ivy covered cloisters. There were tall, ornately painted vases, life-size statues, fountains and several capacious gazebos festooned in gold trim and stained glass. Again, Jessie’s brain went into scenic overload—it was breathtaking. But right now, the thing most pressing on her mind was her brother, whom she still had not seen.

  “Will she be okay, Jacob?” Gracie called out.

  “Yes,” he replied happily. “She’s going to be fine.”

  “Oh, thank goodness!” cried Gracie. “My poor heart can’t take any more!”

  “You were out for nearly ten minutes!” spoke Ellen.

  “Nine minutes, forty-seven seconds,” stated Ruthanne. “But I have to say, Jessie, it felt like hours. You had us so worried.”

  “Where is Sam?” Jessie asked, her voice finally working. She was starting to sense some anxiety welling up again. “I can’t see Sam?”

  Jacob turned a strange look at the others.

  “What!” she gasped. “Has something happened to Sam!” Jessie jumped to her feet.

  “Hey Jessie,” came Sam’s voice from somewhere behind her. She felt a rush of relief and whirled to locate him.

  “And here we go,” mumbled Eli.

  Jessie’s eyes finally found the figure she knew was Sam. It helped that the kid was waving at her. “Oh . . . Sam!” she nearly broke into tears. He seemed fine, and was contently standing with an adult on a pathway just above her in a field of flowers. She raised her hand and waived back at him.

  Sam laughed and waved again, and then the person with him also turned to wave, and—”

  The smile on Jessie’s face vanished. She turned white as a sheet and whirled a dreadful look on Jacob!

  “Now don’t freak out! It’s okay, Jess. He’s a friend.”

  The adult standing next to Sam was not an adult, at least not a human adult. It had a form like a human, but the face, long arms—and especially the eyes—no, it was definitely not human! It was a robot thing! And it was holding Sam’s hand as if some trusted guardian!

  Jessie turned and yelled as desperately as she could: “Sam! Get away from that thing! Run!”

  “Jessie! It’s al—”

  “Shut up!” she growled, and pushed Jacob away. Then she started to run toward them.

  Sam looked confused. He frowned and glanced up at his new friend, then back at his sister. He promptly shook his head at her. “Why?” he called back.

  “Jessie Goodwin!” Now it was Gracie’s voice that muddled itself between fear and misperception. “You listen to me! That android just saved your life, and Sam’s. His name is Three-of-Ten,” she continued to shout, her voice coming far stronger than her small figure. “I trust him with my own life . . . and the lives of everyone in this room! Calm down and listen to Jacob!” Gracie’s stern reproach caught the girl like a stun gun. She slowed, then turned toward the old matriarch. “You must trust us, Jessie!”

  Jessie eased, and eyed the creature again. The husky android attempted another wave. And she chilled. She looked desperately to the four individuals who had caught up with her and were standing at her side. Then she looked back at her brother, Sam, and the . . . the thing holding his hand. No one seemed alarmed in the slightest. No one but her!

  “Three-of-Ten has been with us since the beginning,” spoke Ruthanne, softly. “He belongs to Jacob, and Jacob to him.”

  Jessie turned a confused look on Jacob. She now felt bad for shoving him so hard. Jacob’s eyes were pleading. He wanted nothing more than for her to feel safe. “Please Jessie. Trust me. Three-Of-Ten is one of us.” He reached and gently touched her arm. “We each have an android companion,” he explained, his voice soft and tender. “The underground caverns are vast, Jessie. We can’t always work in teams. It was decided long ago that each one of us was to have our own intelligent android companion, to accompany and protect us when we worked alone. They are biologically bound to our DNA, and can sense many of our emotions. They can also warn us of impending danger.”

  Jessie listened, but hollowly. Her eyes remained transfixed on Sam, and the android creature which stood next to him.

  “Three-of-Ten is unique,” Jacob continued. “I have given him more human-like attributes. His intellect is superior, and he has developed quite a character.”

  “You can say that again,” spoke up Eli.

  Ellen quickly shushed him.

  “Jessie.” Jacob touched her chin. He turned her head until those intense, beautiful blue eyes leveled on him. “Three-of-Ten is my best friend, and I love him like a brother. You must trust me on this.”

  She perplexed, and fought the feelings sparring within her. She glanced again toward the android, who had just bent and picked a handful of flowers to show Sam.

  Sam laughed, and turned a large smile toward her. Then he motioned for Jessie to come and join them.

  “I suppose,” she whispered,”—pausing—“if he really saved our lives, I should be grateful.”

  Jacob squeezed her hand. “You don’t need to fear him. He already knows how very special you are.”

  She perplexed. “What do you mean?”

  “I told you. He can sense my emotions, my feelings.” Jacob’s face flushed, and his chin dropped.

  Jessie reached and brought his gaze back up to hers. “Perhaps you should formally introduce me, then.” And she smiled.

  Jacob infused instantly. And he beamed.

  Gracie let out a long drawn breath. “Listen up everyone. It would appear that we have some explaining to do,” she said. “And,”—she paused, eyes riveted on Sam—“so do you, young man!”

  Sam’s head when down under a load of guilt.

  Gracie turned to Jacob. “I think we can all use those refreshments now. In fact, we might as well get Hank back online and up here to help out. I have to admit, I’ve missed that clumsy tin can.”

  Jacob smiled and nodded anxiously. “Right!” he said, and started up in a jog.

  “And Jacob,” she called after him. “Have Hank bring in chocolate. If we’re going to get through this tonight, we’re going to need comfort food. Lots of it!”

  “You got it! All
the chocolate you can handle.” And he headed off again.

  Gracie turned to the others. “Let’s start this meeting again,” she spoke, her eyes penetrating and filled with resolve. Then she looked off toward Jessie and Sam, who now stood together, Three-of-Ten in the center, holding tight to a hand from both Sam, and Jessie. She sighed. “It will most certainly be an altered agenda.”

  --

  Jessie sat, holding tight to Sam’s hand. They had both gone to their rooms, changed into dry clothing, and returned, via the normal approach—hallways, doors, pathways—to the solarium.

  Once back, they had eaten their fill of treats and snacks; met Hank and his less-human looking counterpart—a robot cleaning system named Emma Sue; and watched the effects that lightning had on the flowers and other plant life in the solarium. It was enough shock and awe in one night, for a lifetime, and inwardly, Jessie was still frightened. Frightened at what her mind was shoving into all the blank spaces. Frightened of the assumptions that would riddle her for the rest of her life, and frightened that she loved one of this group, one which now appeared very different to her than just hours before.

  “Sam’s moth must have fed on pollen from the foliage here in the solarium, then somehow escaped outside,” explained Eli.

  “Yes. That’s a conundrum I need to investigate,” replied Jacob, popping another pastry into his face. “This entire facility is supposed to be hermetically sealed.”

  “What does her-mit-cally mean?” asked Sam.

  Jessie smiled at Jacob. “I got this one. It means sealed tight like when you screw the lid on your bug container. Not even air can get in unless you poke holes in the top,” she described.

  “Oh,” said Sam. Then he hurried off down another pathway to investigate more of this new whimsical playground.

  “Evidently we have holes,” added Ellen, gazing up toward the top.

  “That’s not the only thing which needs fixing,” implied Eli. “We never even considered the fire escape,” he mused vulnerably. “How could we have missed that?”

  “I only remembered it when I saw Sam climbing down the thing,” explained Jessie. “I must have shouted at him at least ten times, but with the wind—and him so focused on that winged insect—the only thing I could think to do was to lower my own ladder and follow him.”

  “An understandable decision,” replied Ruthanne.

  Jessie nodded, and tried to smile, but it would have looked naively fake. She just wasn’t in the smiling mood. She eyed the group scrupulously, realizing that she really had no idea who any of them were. Yet . . . now that she saw Eli and Ellen side-by-side, she had an idea about them. And soon enough, Jessie simply had to ask! “You are brother and sister, aren’t you,” she finally got up the courage.

  Ellen smiled and Eli grinned.

  “I thought so,” she said. “And I suppose neither of you two,”—she nodded between Ruthanne and Ellen—“are Gracie’s nieces.”

  “No,” spoke Ruthanne softly. “This was a deception necessary to facilitate your brief stay. It has weighed heavily on me—this façade.”

  “You see, Jessie,” spoke up Gracie. “We are just scientists. That’s all. All this is simply our laboratory. Our work here is so very important. But must, absolutely, remain a secret. That is why you were deceived.”

  “But why be so secret, Gracie? So secluded and closed-mouthed that no one else even knows you’re here? And how did you build all this . . . just the five of you?” she questioned. “I mean, I’ not stupid. It would take the planning, resources and engineering of an entire metropolis to build something like this.” She shook her head and laughed ironically. “Come on, Gracie. I know you’re wealthy, but this kind of wealthy? It’s just too much for me to get my head around. Sorry.”

  “There’s a great deal more you don’t know, Jessie,” Gracie cautioned. “Things which we cannot tell you for your own safety.”

  “You see. That’s what I mean,” Jessie interjected. “‘For my own safety’? Do you know how that sounds?”

  “Yes. I do,” Gracie replied. “I simply meant that you would not understand, nor comprehend. You have to trust us. Both you and Sam. You were never meant to see any of this during your brief stay. It was a risk we took to help you and your brother, and we would do it all again.”

  Gracie’s words were humbling, and Jessie felt their impact.

  “Please Jessie. You must understand,” Gracie continued, “if you ever spoke of what you have seen here tonight; if you told anyone about this place, it would have devastating effects for us, and even more importantly, for you. It would destroy a lifetime of work, and change the world forever.”

  Jessie stared at her for a time. She believed that Gracie believed in what she was saying. But was it rational? Jessie simply nodded. But her eyes belied her response. She was so unsure, and still very much afraid.

  “Is that too much to ask, Jess?” questioned Jacob, seeing the conflict in the girl’s face.

  “No. Of course not,” she waned. “It’s just that . . . well, you have such incredible technology here. And yet you are so isolated. How did you really come by it, and why don’t you want to share it with the rest of the world?”

  Gracie looked dismal, and turned away for a time. “A noble question,” she finally replied.

  “I think we should tell her why,” spoke up Ruthanne, rather suddenly. “The more we keep from her, the more confused she will be. If we tell her the truth, she will understand . . . and more importantly, she will trust us.”

  “You mean show her the underground faculty?” stuttered Eli. “Really? Are you serious!”

  Gracie looked across the stream at Sam and Three-of-Ten. The mechanical man had him on his shoulders, holding him up so that Sam could swipe at one of the large butterflies. “Eli is right. To tell her, Ruthy, is to show her. Show her everything.”

  “Yes. Precisely,” Ruthanne confirmed.

  Gracie grappled for a response. She tried to read the emotion in the pale faces, and blank stares now drilling upon her. “Very well,” she surrendered, her voice a mere whisper. “But just Jessie. Sam must never know more than he does now. He is too young to reason, or to understand.”

  “Gracie. Are you sure?” cautioned Eli, unable to hold his tongue. “To take this kind of risk? To put her in this unfair position?”

  Jessie didn’t like the sound of that.

  Ellen reached and took her brother’s hand. “I agree with Ruthanne, Eli. It is the only way Jessie will trust us. She has already been drawn into whatever risk, or conflict, the truth may present. Her understanding will be her defense.”

  “We have the advantage in our timetable. In just days, HOPE will be launched. All of what she sees in the underground will soon be gone, anyway. After that, the HOPE complex will exist in her mind as a mere dream,” added Ruthanne. “And in time, all dreams fade.”

  Gracie turned to Jacob. “Let’s take her through the complex, and then through Avalon.”

  Jacob nodded. He swallowed hard, and turning to Jessie said: “Is this what you want? We can draw the blinds right now and stop where we stand. No more explanations from us . . . but no more questions from you.”

  “No.” Jessie shook her head. “I want to know everything . . . right down to where you got this delicious chocolate.” Then she smiled.

  Jacob laughed, and felt a wash of relief. So did the rest of group . . . all but Eli. He was still very skeptical.

  Jessie knew that Jacob—nor any of the group, really—would ever make a suggestion that would harm her, or Sam. Besides, she had already hit the high flyer—perhaps by accident—but she had hit it all the same, right out of the field. She could either go for the home run, or let herself get out on first base. Jessie never opted to stay on base when she could run for home, even in the little leagues. It was a no-brainer.

  “Jacob,” Gracie instructed. “Start with the Records Depository. I want her to see everything. Show her the Five’s history, and mine.” Do this before
you show her the complex. I think it will help her to understand. Am I clear on this?”

  “Yes, Gracie,” replied the boy. “I understand.”

  “Keep your hands and feet inside at all times and hold on,” he said, taking Jessie by the hand. “This is a ride you’re not soon going to forget.”

  --

  The sun bent through Jessie’s windows in stripes of warmth and color. She felt its touch as it stretched its friendly fingers out until it caressed her skin. On any other morning, the welcoming warmth would have teased and menaced her into submission, and she would have pulled herself out of bed. But not this morning. Sleep had been rejected—hour after long hour—and Jessie had spent what was left of the night, sitting on her couch, staring out at the grounds and the solarium through windows which were now shut tight.

  Why, oh why, had Sam gone chasing that stupid moth! she repeated the question in her mind, the same which had tormented her all night. The boy would never know, or comprehend, the Pandora’s Box which he had opened by that simple breach of rules.

  Jessie’s emotions were spent—rung out and so void that she felt empty, felt numb. She had cried so many times during the night that there were no more tears to come, even though the heartache still clung to her; clung as it had when that first tear had rolled down her cheek. She had cried for them, the Five, and what they had endured so many years ago, and for their courage in what they continued to bear on a daily basis . . . for their selfless dedication to HOPE—their gift to the world. She had cried for Gracie, for losing Zen, and for a grandfather, Tom, which she herself would never know. She had cried for lost opportunities—for a government that she trusted, but who had chosen to put dominion before the wellbeing of its citizens. And last, she had cried for discovering that truth can be more painful than a lifetime of deceit: she would love Jacob forever . . . forever apart.

  It was stupid, really. The way she felt, the way she was acting. She kept telling herself that she had seen unimaginable things. Things she had only read in books of fiction and fantasy. She had been given the opportunity of a lifetime—a priceless infusion of knowledge, and the gift of hope in a future which might never have come.