Into the Forest Shadows
Page 3
"Done with that cup, dear? My, you were thirsty. We've nearly finished the second pot," Grandma said. "Oh yes, I remember what I was saying. School on the colony ship. Yes, that was interesting. Still had a great education, but I definitely missed working with students and teachers long distance. But the communications system was completely destroyed in a hyperspace radiation burst. That's why I'm so careful to keep in touch with people, even though I live somewhat isolated."
Kate looked down at her lap to realize she had the dreaded teacup back in her hand. When did that happened?
"Grandma, I really don't like the taste of the new tea," Kate finally said.
Grandma looked down at her cup, "Hmm, maybe more of an acquired taste? I can see about flavorings. Or maybe you would enjoy one of the teas with the new edible berry we found. You like the sweeter tastes."
"I vote sweet," Kate said, carefully setting the tea cup back on the table.
"I do have a sweeter mix you can take home with you. Let's see, when should you come back? In three weeks or so?"
"I have no problem with that. I doubt Mom would, either. Although, Uncle Travis will certainly say something," Kate said.
"Oh yes, that little problem," Grandma scowled. "Mary wasn't always so needy. She was a real spitfire at one time, much like you. But she changed in her teens. Needed to be with someone. Just needed."
"Strong?" Kate echoed. Hard to believe. "What changed?"
Grandma waved a hand, "You'll have to ask her. I never could get an answer out of her, if she even knows herself."
Kate tightly pressed her lips together. "I'm not going to be like that."
"I still wonder where she got it from. It didn't come from me. I loved your Grandfather, but we were partners in life. It's a wonderful thing if you find what is true," Grandma said with a satisfied sigh.
Kate grimaced. "Oh yeah, and there are a lot of choices on this planet."
"I didn't mean you. You're only sixteen, dear. You have plenty of time! Oh, but not plenty of time here and now. I believe I hear the shuttle engines." Grandma set her tea cup aside and stood up.
Kate pulled the mobile phone out of her pocket, looking at the time. No way! The day couldn't be almost over! How had that happened? She jumped up and ran to the table causing several bunts to run to shelter on the other side of the room. "If you need something ordered, there may still be time for the next inbound freighter to bring it."
Grandma grabbed her basket, dropping several things inside. "I've ordered everything I'll need for the next few months. Call me when you get home."
Grandma ushered her out the door, closing it behind them. Kate stopped on the porch to get her balance as another wave of dizziness swept over her.
"It's colder," Kate said to cover her hesitation.
"I told you it would be. The breeze will pick up soon, mark my words." Grandma took her arm and led her down the path. "What a lovely day. Just what I needed. You know, with all the sensors set up I think I'll work in the lab tonight. So much to do and with the sick trees I've been rather behind."
"An assistant!" Kate said suddenly.
"What?"
"You have all kinds of rooms. You could have an assistant out here, maybe someone apprenticing with you. You have so much to teach." To Kate it was the perfect answer to keeping Uncle Travis from forcing Grandma to come to the city. Then Kate and her mother wouldn't have to worry about her anymore. Grandma could keep her independence for who knew how many more years.
Grandma sighed. "What is it about you today? I'm fine, I like working alone. I don't need an assistant and I don't need a vacation in the city. Now, off you go. I won't tell you not to get into trouble. Knowing you, you already have something planned. Just try not to get into anything that might bring the authorities down on your head."
Kate laughed. "Deal. But you promise to call me if you need anything."
"Oh, you can be sure of that."
Kate stared at Grandma. No humor graced the eyes usually crinkled with smiling wrinkles. Her lips set firmly in a stern line, her hands clasped together in front of her with her shoulders back.
The shuttle descended through the trees before she could clarify what Grandma meant by the comment. Rushing air buffeted against Kate's legs, billowing out the cape so that the hood bumped up against the back of her head. Bunts scurried behind roots and trees. The shuttle settled gently on the landing gear and the engines powered down.
"I remixed the tea a little," Grandma said. "Try it now and let me know how you like the taste."
"Aww, you didn't give me the tea we just had, did you?" Kate moaned, quickly looking through her basket. Sure enough, next to a jar of jelly lay small hand-wrapped packets of tea.
"Kate, I ask that you try it at least once more. It has amazing health benefits. Better yet, share it with your mother and you can both let me know your opinions of the remix."
Kate opened her mouth to object to having to taste the concoction again, but something in Grandma's eyes made her hold her tongue. She put the cloth cover over the top of the basket, "Fine. I'll try one more sip, but no more than that if it tastes like last time."
Grandma surprised her with a quick hug, "That's my girl. Thank you. And thank you for such a wonderful day."
A day Kate couldn't really remember. Maybe she had taken a nap?
"Uh, are we heading out?" a young male voice asked.
A dark-brown haired teenager not much older than herself stood at the top of the ramp in the open hatch leading into the shuttle cabin. The work-stained heavy pants and dark brown jacket identified him as one of the Gatherers. Great, that meant a delay getting home while the shuttle made an extra stop.
"Good morning, Ayden. So good to see you. She'll be right up! Tell the computer to wait," Grandma said to him. The boy turned around while Grandma enveloped Kate in a fierce hug. "Have a safe flight back."
"I will." The hug made Kate aware of one more thing still in her possession. She pulled out the bottle of tablets.
Grandma scowled at them. "Get rid of those things. Better yet, tell your Uncle to take them himself."
Kate slipped it in her pocket, "I would put them in something he eats if it weren't so dangerous. I still want you to come to the city for a bit, though. I could use the back-up."
"Nope, not going to happen. Ayden is waiting. Isn't he just the cutest little thing? Now, get on board. Time for you to head home. Tell your mother that I love her. Oh, and you too, you little trouble-maker."
Kate grinned. She couldn't help it. Grandma was only partially teasing about the last part. It also felt nice to know someone else saw the truth in Uncle Travis that she did.
She stepped up to the shuttle. The day felt too short to her, but at least she was leaving in a much better mood than when she'd arrived. The only other occupant in the shuttle sat in one of the seats on the right side, the boy Grandma called Ayden.
Okay, so he had lush hair that curled at the nape, but cute? Not with the slightly too-long nose. Or the subdued colors of the rough clothes he wore. Maybe Grandma's versions of what qualified as 'cute' was different than hers.
She settled in a seat a little behind him at a window where she would have a good view of the scenery outside.
Gray eyes turned to look at her, "Why would you want your Grandmother to go to the city? She will be going strong in the forest long after the rest of us are gone."
Okay, definitely not cute. An annoying, sticking-his-nose-where-it-didn't-belong busybody.
CHAPTER FOUR
"Grandma can't live in the forest all the time. She has family who would like to see her face once in a while," Kate said. The shuttle computer pilot announced their launch. Kate turned to the window and waved at Grandma.
"They can come out here to visit, like you did. Why would anyone want to be cooped up in the city? Everyone lives right on top of each other and there's nothing to do."
"Speak for yourself. There's plenty to do in the city," Kate said, turning away from the wi
ndow as the shuttle rose past the canopy. She resisted the urge to cross her arms over her chest.
"Oh sure. Play in the tiny gym near the schools, or maybe work in the fields."
Kate glared at the back of his head. "Or talking to the trees? Or chase bunts around?"
Ayden chuckled, "Actually, that can be a lot of fun."
"Enjoy your time as a forest nomad," Kate said.
Ayden gestured dismissively with a hand, "I will. You can deal with all the spoiled wanna-be colonists that swarm the place anytime another human world closes immigration. Which is just about every day now."
Definitely one of her touchy buttons. The lack of worlds to go to had meant her mother had had no choice but to bring her and Kate back to Oburos when her father died. Oh, and after finding out her father had lied about getting them citizenship on the world they had been living on for most of Kate's growing-up. Who knew where that money went. Or so much of the money.
Oburos. Out in the middle of nowhere. What a place to end up.
Kate realized she was frowning fiercely. She consciously relaxed her mouth. She didn't like showing so much emotion. Better to keep people guessing.
Two little ears of white and soft brown poked up over Ayden's shoulder. A petite bunt head with a twitchy nose and huge wide brown eyes poked over the shoulder to look back at her. A paw reached up to scratch the fur at the base of one ear.
Kate groaned, "Great, one of them got in here."
Ayden reached up and patted the head of the bunt, "Nah, this is Bunbun. He's with me."
The bunt turned away from Ayden's hand and dove down into the top of his coat.
"You have one for a pet? I didn't think that worked, that they would just run away."
"Bunbun is a special case," Ayden said.
The thought of a bunt running around the small apartment she and her mother shared just about sent her into giggles. Letting a few loose in Uncle Travis's apartment would be even better. Now that was an idea!
No, the things were too cute to do something so cruel with. They didn't deserve the likes of Uncle Travis.
Ayden's head turned towards his window. Kate turned to look out her own. She preferred the silence. Time to start thinking seriously about her plans once she got back to the city. Something decisive needed to be done about several situations, and soon.
Ayden leaned across the aisle to look out the window on the same side of the shuttle Kate sat on. Kate looked outside again, but she didn't see anything other than the colors of the forest itself.
Ayden switched back in one sharp move towards another window.
"What's the matter with you?" Kate demanded.
"I think I see fog," Ayden said.
"So what? The auto-pilot doesn't need to see to get us where we're going."
Ayden shook his head, "This isn't that kind of fog."
Kate looked back out the window at the trees below. Wisps of white moved between the trees. The fog curled over the tops of the shorter trees, ghostly arms reaching ever higher.
The way it moved gave her shivers, reminding her of warnings Grandma had given about staying out of the forest fog, as it could be dangerous. She'd never seen it before in the few trips she'd made out to the cottage. Now she wished she'd asked for more details.
Ayden threw off his seat harness and ran the few steps to the front of the shuttle and opened an inset cabinet.
"What are you doing?" Kate demanded, her hands tensing on the handle of the basket.
Ayden frowned at her, "You're Kate O'Hanson, right?"
"Yeah, what of it?"
Ayden pressed two red buttons at the top of a panel, "This is shuttle 719 Alpha on the way to Gatherer Camp Alpha. There are two souls on board named Ayden Jarreau and Kate O'Hanson. Fog is lifting and growing in density. Can the shuttle course be altered?"
A voice answered Ayden but she couldn't hear the words over the sound of the engines. The shuttle banked hard as Ayden moved back to his seat, using the chairs to help him stay on his feet. The tight turn pressed Kate into her seat. The forest below blurred.
The shuttle leveled out. From the placement of the mountains it looked like they were headed straight back towards Grandma's house.
"What going on? What's happening?" Kate demanded.
"Didn't you hear me? The fog is moving in."
The steady sounds of the engines hiccuped. Kate looked back down the aisle, even though she couldn't see the engines at all. The engines had never done that on any of her trips.
The shuttle engines changed tone, sounding ragged with fits and bursts.
"What does the fog have to do with shuttle engines?"
"You're about to find out!" Ayden said as a shrill whine from the engines filled the cabin.
Outside, fog swirled up from the trees, appearing out of nowhere, reaching up at them as if alive.
It had to be her imagination. Fog didn't move like that.
She let the basket drop between her feet and put both hands on the harness where it went over her shoulders, holding on tight. The trees outside moved by faster, but they also looked closer.
The shuttle nose dipped, giving no doubt as to the direction. They headed towards the forest at an angle she didn't like at all.
The land dipped into a shallow valley, the blue shimmer of a large lake in the distance. Nearby would be Grandma's house. A transparent grasping tentacle of fog reached up, dissipated into nothing as the shuttle flew through it.
But the air held an odd quality. The very seat she was sitting in felt different. Along the top edge of the window portal a small filament of blue electricity danced along the edge. Kate leaned as far away from it as possible. Blue arcs lit up the computer panels at the front of the shuttle. One of the engines coughed, going silent.
Kate held her breath. Another engine cough and the cabin filled with a high-pitched whine. The nose pitched down.
"We're going down!" Ayden shouted.
The automated computer voice began reciting emergency instructions. All items stowed, safety harnesses tightened, emergency exits. It wasn't easy to hear over the engines.
Mixed in with the fear came anger. She didn't like the idea of dropping out of the sky like a rock, especially before she had a chance at Uncle Travis.
Green and red leaves grew larger and brighter as the shuttle descended. The next moment colors flashed past the other side of the portal as they entered the forest canopy. Heavy branches and limbs scraped at the side of the shuttle. The engines screamed even louder.
The sudden impact with the ground threw her forward against the safety harness.
The following silence made her ears ring. Kate took a deep breath. She could breath. This was good.
She slowly lifted her head. No pain there, either. In fact no pain anywhere except her shoulders from the harness.
A familiar forest emerged from the other side of the portal. Dirt and debris covered the forest floor up to the nearest trees. Clods of soil hung in the fronds of giant ferns.
Ayden partially turned in his seat. "Are you all right?"
Kate found her voice, "Yes, I'm fine."
"Good, then get up." Ayden released his harness and stood up. He reached up to the overhead bins to grab a dark brown backpack. He swung the backpack onto his back and clipped it tight at his waist, causing Bunbun to appear at his neck above the top button.
Kate unhooked the harness and let it retract into the seat. She pulled the basket out from under the seat in front of her. "Well, that was exciting. We should call in to tell them we landed safely."
"No electronics on this tub are working now. Not after the fog," Ayden said.
He went to the door and tried the panel. When nothing happened he pulled open the manual release. The door didn't open at his prodding. The cover to the manual release hit the other side of the interior as he ripped it off.
Kate stood up quickly as he yanked on the hand-release, "What's the problem?"
The door popped open. "Let's go."
"We don't have time for this." Ayden took the few steps towards her and grabbed her arm. Kate found herself yanked down the aisle and dragged to the door.
She jerked back, yanking her arm out of his hand. "What do you think you are doing? The safest place to be is with the shuttle!"
"Not right now it isn't." Ayden regained possession of her arm and dragged her out the door. The lack of a ramp caused her to stumble several paces before regaining her balance. He stopped, looking around. With a set expression he turned away from the shuttle and walked quickly away, taking her with him.
Kate struggled to get her arm out of his iron grasp, "You've gone crazy!"
"And I'm not about to die because some city girl doesn't know when to stop talking and to start listening!" Ayden said, pulling her towards the trees.
"If you haven't noticed, we're on the ground, the engines are shut down. It isn't as if they are going to explode."
Ayden laughed, "You think I'm worried about exploding engines? Those kind of engines don't explode, they sizzle out. Geez, why were you let out of the city? I would have thought there would be more forest sense for someone who visits her grandmother all the time."
"Leave my grandmother out of this!" Kate said, jerking back hard, worried at how far from the shuttle they were moving.
In return, Ayden jerked her hard forward. Kate lost her footing and found herself rolling across the ground, right under the outer layer of drooping limbs of a large tree with cream-colored bark. A root dug into her stomach.
Kate tried to roll to her feet, but Ayden followed and pulled her back to the ground. Not quite balanced, she fell right over him.
"Don't make me sit on you," Ayden said in her ear.
Kate scrambled off his lap but the grip on her arm kept her form moving further away from him. "Mind telling me about your particular brand of insanity?"