More tears. She had spent three days digging her parent’s graves, the blisters still stung. Had it only been a month since the three of them lived together in their warm, happy hut?
“Mia, Mia, I’m sorry. I don’t know how to help you. I’m only thirteen, you know they won’t listen to me!”
She nodded.
His brown eyes melted with tears of his own.
“Caleb, don’t worry about me, please. I know you’re doing the best you can. I’ll... I’ll be all right.”
“Last night, my mother said--” he turned away to stare at the wall. “She said they were going to—“
Rocks crunched outside. “Caleb!” a woman’s voice screeched.
“Try to stay warm,” he whispered, and squeezed Mia’s hand.
The last time she had seen Caleb he was pleading with the elders as they led Mia away to be sacrificed. He begged them to make a different choice, even send an animal as they had often done. But the swamp people believed a human was more desired by the goddess in the ten year sacrifice, and most were happy to have an outsider to offer up instead of a family member.
She never understood his kindness, only felt it as the only glowing ember in her otherwise cold and horrible existence. In the end, he couldn’t save her, and never knew Toby had rescued her from death at the last minute.
###
Gramble Shana’s gentle voice broke through her thoughts. “Mia, we must help her. Father wants us to forgive and show mercy. Unforgiveness is a chain that Satan uses to bind us tightly. We hold our own key, and have the choice to free ourselves when we let go and give it to God. Think about the child. Her baby didn’t do anything wrong.”
And this is Caleb's baby sister or brother. Mia pulled herself to her feet and pushed through the trees. “Madrid...” she began.
The woman stared up at her through pain-filled eyes. “Natura, you have come,” she gasped. “Are you taking me away?”
“I’m not Natura, don’t you recognize me?” Then Mia remembered. Swamp people believed their goddess sometimes took the form of a previously sacrificed human to interact with her people, since her true form could be too terrifying for humans to witness. I’ll go along with it for now. “Lie down,” she told Madrid firmly. “We are here to help you.”
Gramble Shana had already gathered sticks for a fire. “Stream’s close. I’ll get some water for the pot.”
“What pot?”
Gramble Shana held up an earthen bowl, full of berries. “I think it’ll boil water,” she said.
“Yes, probably.” Mia took off her sweater and rolled it into a bundle to place beneath Madrid’s head.
Peace settled over the woman’s features. “I’m glad you are here,” she murmured.
So Madrid hadn’t meant to have the baby alone.
Madrid cried out again, but the desperate edge to her voice was softened.
Mia found a clean corner of her skirt to wipe Madrid’s face. She found herself crooning, “Everything will be all right,” as if she were talking to one of Gramble Lenora’s goats.
Gramble Shana came back with the water. “Well, Child, now we prepare—and wait."
###
A head lolled. A chin dipped into one of Toby’s shiny soup bowls, and the dish fell from loose fingers and clattered down the rocks. Sleepers jerked at the noise, then settled back into slumber.
Toby wrested his hands from the cords and tugged on the rope binding his feet. He hated to destroy something so useful, but the knots would take too long to work loose. His claws gleamed in the dying embers of the campfire and in one swift motion, he was free.
Toby crept over to where Marabella curled by the fire, her face covered by a blanket of hair. She had gathered most of his things back into the pack, which now served as her pillow.
He froze as the girl rolled over and rubbed her nose, then he relaxed as her gentle breaths of slumber came once more. The pack stayed firm.
I can’t risk it. He'd lived off the land before and could do it again.
Toby shoved his gloves into a pocket and shimmied up a tree. Branches whipped his face but his mouth filled with the taste of freedom.
Even if Dread was able to travel the next day, his group would never be as fast as Toby, and they didn't know he also headed for the cause of the mysterious light. Despite Marabella’s swagger, the girl was no fool. She would have realized the forest kids were lucky to have survived today's fight in the thicket. Hopefully the teens wouldn’t risk another encounter with the Moddies.
The trees grew farther apart here, and Toby dropped to a patch of rocky ground. Large boulders sprang up for him to scramble over. Then he came to a steep hill. A little stream bubbled near the top, fresh and inviting. When he stooped for a drink, a faint animal scent caught his attention.
Further investigation led him to a large hollow in the rocks. The scent was old, the cave had not been visited for quite some time. Might make a good place to camp later.
Another, taller hill loomed before him, this time crowned by a sturdy oak. He climbed to the highest branches and looked out over the treetops. The meteor, spaceship, or whatever it was would be close, perhaps two miles away. The thing must be huge to have been seen from such a great distance. Could it be a spaceship? Was it even possible?
“I’m possible,” he reminded himself, and smoothed his ears.
A distant revving came from the highway. Morning dawned. A thin gray mist settled over the ground and was broken by beams of light flickering over the hill.
So it was true. Toby had seen the rusted remains of cars dotting the highway on his last adventure. But he never thought he would see vehicles move and operate. Two, then three sets of headlights flashed. He scrambled down the tree and up another for a better look. A rusty pick-up truck emerged from the dim light, followed by a small car and a dull, yellow school bus.
Toby was fascinated by automobiles, and had studied books about them with Gramble Howard. Those cars must have been patched together from vehicles over forty years old. The rubber tires they bounced on could only travel over certain types of road and wouldn’t get much farther through this section of land. The Moddies would soon be forced to get out and push through the woods on foot. He could reach the spaceship before them if nothing got in his path.
“Hurry,” the Voice inside his head urged him. Toby flew faster through the trees.
Sulfur invaded his nose like sharp tacks, pushing out all other senses. He stopped to pull his shirt over his nose. Light shone through the branches, and he followed a lazy thread of smoke to a blackened mess on the forest floor.
Hurry, hurry.
So Leader was right. He dropped to the ground and moved closer to the ship. Steam lifted from a blackened, metal hull at least twenty feet high. It was hard to tell length, since broken trees and branches obscured part of the egg-shaped craft.
Toby’s curiosity quickly overwhelmed his awe. Could there be an opening?
A loud ‘creak’ answered his thoughts. A large portion of the egg’s side cracked open and light seeped out from the inside to pool in the black sand.
Toby stepped forward and held his tail close to keep it from twitching.
The door lowered to the ground to create a ramp. A normal-sized person, a woman, was silhouetted in the light, her face shadowed by a rich, scarlet cloth.
“Could you help me?” she asked Toby. “My father has been hurt.”
6
ESCAPE
Mia spread her shawl over a springy bed of ferns on the forest floor. She and Gramble Shana had combed through the green plants to make sure no twigs or stones were hidden beneath them.
Gramble Shana helped Madrid hobble to the makeshift bed and lie down. Then she covered the trembling woman with her bright orange sweater.
Mia’s apron fluttered like a white moth on a tree branch. When the baby came, it would be warmed and ready to serve as a blanket.
Though each task took a few moments, Mia felt she had spent days in the cl
earing. She and Gramble Shana worked in silence, praying their best would be enough.
Madrid’s screams quieted to occasional moans, and she even sipped the wild mint tea brewed by Gramble Shana. When Mia came to check her pulse the swamp woman's eyes filled with trust. "You will keep me safe, Natura. My child is in your hands."
Mia turned away. How could Madrid not see the fear and doubt written all over her face? Did birth pains cloud her vision?
One more task remained. She pulled out the red and white checked picnic cloth from the basket and tore it into small sections, then placed the material in the pot of boiled water to soak.
What else they could do? Contractions were closer together. She had studied labor and delivery and watched films on the subject as part of her medical instruction with Gramble Edward. The only live births she attended were for rabbits, goats and kittens. Animals rarely needed intervention. With human babies so many things could go wrong, and the middle of the woods hardly seemed the place to bring a baby into the world.
Madrid’s quiet moans suddenly became dark and low, like they came from the deepest part of her being. Veins throbbed on her forehead and her brow furrowed. She seemed focus only on the baby, only on the part of herself that knew what to do.
Gramble Shana looked into her eyes. “You’re doing great, just think about your baby!”
Mia checked to see if any progress had been made. “Madrid, the time has come. You need to push now.”
“I can’t!” Madrid wailed. “I’m tired and it hurts too much! I will never give birth to this child!”
“I can see the baby’s head, it’s coming now. Just push!”
In a few moments, a slippery, wriggling baby came into the world, eyes wide and wondering.
Mia wiped the baby’s bright red face with a piece of tablecloth. The mouth opened and an indignant cry-- the cry every child makes when forced to leave the comfort of the womb and join the outside world—wavered in the air.
Shana poured boiled water over her knife and cut the thick, rubbery umbilical cord. She tied the end tightly with a clean cloth. “A beautiful little girl.” She wrapped the baby in the warm apron and placed her in the swamp woman’s arms.
Joy replaced the lines of pain on Mardrid’s face as she cuddled her child. “My little Taliya.” She lifted her head to look at Mia. “Thank you, Natura.”
“Oh dear,” said Mia to Gramble Shana. “How do we explain? And how do we get them home?”
“We’ll worry about that later,” said Gramble Shana. “Let her enjoy her baby for a little while.”
###
What did I expect, little green men? Toby moved forward.“Welcome, Ma’am. I will try to help if I can, but we need to hurry. A group of very dangerous people are headed this way and they want your ship.” Another step closer. “My name is Toby.”
The woman pushed her cloak back to reveal delicate features etched on a face of perhaps twenty-five years. Her hair, dark and fine as soot, spilled out over her shoulders. She touched Toby’s ear with a slender finger. “The race of man has changed more than we thought.”
“No, no, the race of man is the same.” Toby shifted a step away. “What’s left of them, anyway. I’m not a man, I’m a Trilby.”
“Trill-bee?” said the woman, her tongue tripping on the unfamiliar word. “Our transmissions from Earth have never shown a being like you.”
“That’s because I’m the only one,” said Toby. “But I’ll have to explain later.” And I really want to know who you are. Questions threatened to avalanche from his mouth but he stopped himself. Right now he must figure out how to keep this woman and her father safe.
"I am Zareena,” The woman led him up the ramp. She pointed to the sky. “We come from the night.”
Once inside the ship, Toby’s mouth fell open. In the cavern, Grambles Gregory, Edward and Howard would often gather to watch science fiction movies, arguing over the impossible ideas and beliefs. Toby loved the elaborate sets, make-up and special effects. But none of these shows, based on the imagination of man, prepared him for his new surroundings.
The front area was much smaller than he expected. Toby, even with his small stature, had to press into a wall to avoid Zareena, who bustled around the room tinkering with strange buttons and lights. Shapes, mostly rectangles on the curved walls, glowed with symbols and letters, none of which he could decipher.
Zareena followed his gaze. “A language forgotten by Earth.” She pressed a panel, and it brightened under her hand.
“Forgotten?” asked Toby. “From when?”
“Eight thousand Earth years have passed since this language was spoken by humans.” Zareena pointed to more rows of symbols. “The common tongue, forgotten by man after the fall of Babel. Or so we learned from Earth’s satellites, before they were lost.”
Babel. A tower built to defy God after the great flood. Afterwards came the birth of all new languages and mankind’s dispersal throughout the world. Toby had read the story in Father’s sacred book.
Toby studied words and phrases from several languages, including Elvish and Klingon, which belonged to imagined civilizations but were fun to learn anyway. He concentrated on the symbols, willing his mind to understand.
“My father is in here,” Zareena gestured to what appeared to be a solid metal wall. She moved through it. For a moment her shape shimmered, then was gone. “Come.” Her voice floated through the wall as though none existed.
He pressed his gloved fingers against the metal and met empty space. Toby stepped through into another room.
This space was larger, with several bunks hollowed into one wall, piled with cloths of a shiny purple material. The bunks and wall were constructed from the same iridescent metal that comprised the rest of the ship.
A bony hand hung over the side of a lower bunk, the rest of the man’s body covered by one of the blankets.
“Father, we have a visitor. This is Toby.” Zareena turned to Toby, “In your language, my father is Professor. Professor Azereen.”
The man’s brow’s bristled over a bandage covering both eyes. A small line of blood trickled from a corner and over one cheek. He turned his covered face toward Toby. “You will help us?” His voice rasped with age.
“I... I don’t know, Sir.” This ship and technology was more advanced than anything existing on Earth, even before the disaster. Toby couldn’t even drive a car. How could he assist them?
“Father was in the other section of the ship when we crashed,” Zareena pointed to the far wall. “Part of the chamber collapsed. Our roamer was covered by debris and we cannot reach it.”
“What about weapons?” Toby blurted.
Confusion clouded Zareena’s face. “Weapons? Why would we need weapons?”
“Like I said before, a group of people are coming for your ship.” Just the thought made him want to throw up. “They will almost certainly hurt or even kill us for it if we can’t fight them off, or somehow escape.”
Professor Azereen sat up. “If you know of a place we could go, we will leave now and then decide what to do.”
“Abandon the ship?” Zareena gasped. “Father, how could we? You can’t even walk!”
“My feet were not hurt, just my eyes. I can move if someone will lead me. If Toby is correct about the people coming, we do not want to stay here.” Professor Azareen’s hand fumbled until he grasped Zareena’s arm. “My life no longer matters. But you, my daughter, must stay safe.”
“I found a small cave on my way here.” Toby offered. “It’s close to water and difficult to see until you are almost inside. The Moddies are coming from the road, in the opposite direction. They won’t pass by the cave.”
“If only we could take the roamer!” Zareena stood up. “I’ve already tried, it would be impossible to uncover it in time if these people are really so close.”
They pulled Professor Azereen to his feet. The old man swayed but managed to stay upright.
Zareena helped her father into a yellow cl
oak made of a fuzzy material and slung a pack over her shoulder. “Here’s one for you.” She handed a bag to Toby.
The pack was shiny like the bed coverings and almost weightless. Yet when Toby lifted the flap he saw blankets, packets of what he assumed was food and metal devices. A technology that somehow conquered the laws of mass and gravity. And somehow this science even works in Earth’s atmosphere. The grambles would be fascinated.
Zareena glanced around. “This will be enough. We shall hope these people come and go in haste.”
“I’m not sure we can wish for that.” Toby helped lead the professor through the front section. “These people seek power, and your ship holds more than any of us on Earth could ever dream. From what I saw, their leader would stop at nothing to possess this kind of technology.”
They moved back down the ramp to the ground, and Zareena shifted Professor Azereen’s hand to Toby’s shoulder. “Stand here for a moment, Father.” She pressed several of the smooth, rectangular panels on the side of the ship. The door rose up and the crack sealed so tight Toby could see no trace of it.
“This ship had a mirage device to hide it from view,” said Professor Azereen. “Alas, also damaged in the crash.”
“Powerful force would have to be employed to move this door without the orator.” Zareena held up a flat, oval device. “We will pray the Stars prevent its opening.”
They shuffled through freshly fallen leaves toward the hills. Toby couldn't help but worry about the trail they were leaving. Might as well be laying down arrows to point the Moddies in the direction of the cave.
Birds chirped from the treetops and the professor smiled beneath his bandages. “Ahhh, it’s good to hear birds after forty-two years,” he said. “Though I was in a sleeping state for most of the time, I still dreamed of bird songs.”
“You have birds? In space?”
The Toby the Trilby Trilogy Boxed Set Page 9