Third Contact

by James Wilson

  Eos continued, “Kronos told us of how when he was just a boy, each year before winter it was his job to gather firewood every day until their wood hut was full. One day near the end of summer, when he was about your age, he took his cart deep into the woods to get some of the hardwood that smelled so good when it burned; it also lasted the longest in the fire pit. While he was gone, he heard the sounds of thunder booming so loud he thought he would go deaf, and the ground shook so much that he couldn’t even walk. When the Center Sun set, the thunder finally stopped. Kronos walked back home to his village, only to find the village had been stomped into the ground. No one from his village had survived. He fell to the ground where his family’s hut used to be, and fell asleep in a pool of his own tears. He woke as the Center Sun began to rise again. As he cleaned himself off, he heard the thunder again. This time, it was even louder, and he saw the giant Korkidilla rise. The green, scaly monster had a white stripe under each ear that connected under its neck in the shape of a V. Later, he learned that the biggest Korkidilla of them all had destroyed his village—the one they call Tonitrua Pede. Kronos salvaged what he could and moved to a neighboring village to live with his cousins.”

  Joha asked, “Do you think a Korkidilla came to the Lacrymar Valley?”

  “Well, Joha, I don’t know any more than you about what is happening. All I can say is it sure sounds a lot like the story that your grandfather used to tell us. I’m very worried for our village,” Eos replied.

  “What are we going to do, Dad?” Argus asked.

  “Well, son, if it is the Korkidilla, there’s nothing we can do until it is gone. No matter what is happening, we will have to eat, and the berries are only here once a year. I think we should pick as many berries as we can tomorrow and start to head back to the village the next morning,” Eos said.

  Before the Center Sun rose the next morning, the sounds of thunder exploded in the air and the ground shook them all awake. None of them had an appetite, but Eos insisted they all eat as much as they could. “We will need our strength more than ever now.”

  After a little bit to eat, the boys proceeded to gather the spring berries, and Eos made his last trip into the woods to gather a few more roots and leaves.

  CHAPTER 9

  THE REMAINS OF A VILLAGE

  The next day, they awoke to the same terrifying sounds. Saying hardly a word, they packed up the carts and headed toward the village. They walked all day. No one wanted to stop for lunch. There were two campsites along the way—the same two that they used on their way to the hills. About halfway through their second day of walking, the sounds stopped; it was the first good thing to happen since they lost Artemis.

  They woke on the third day and again had a quick bite to eat before continuing on their journey. After only about an hour on foot, the landscape changed. All the vegetation that normally grew was gone. There were trenches and pits, and the smell was horrible. Argus got sick and could not hold down his breakfast. The land was so torn up that they could not take the carts any further.

  Eos said, “Ok, boys, I need one of you to take the carts back to our last campground and stay there with them. The rest of us will continue on to the village and see what is left, if anything. Argus, do you want to take the carts back?” Argus was happy to get away from the smell.

  “Ok, good. Just stay at the camp. I will be back to get you once we figure it all out. I don’t know how long it will take.”

  “Okay, Dad,” Argus said. “Don’t worry about me. I’ll be fine. Maybe I’ll try to build a hut or something while I wait.”

  Joha, Demeter, and Eos continued on toward the village. What would have otherwise been about an eight-hour walk took them two days because of the devastation of the terrain. It was hard to tell where the village used to be. They looked for a long time before they finally found a few remains of one of the huts. They also found three dead bodies, one adult and two children. They were so mangled and covered in muck that they could not tell who they were.

  CHAPTER 10

  SURVIVORS

  While digging through the scattered remains of their village a few hours before the Center Sun set, they saw a figure heading their way from the river. It was Lapetus.

  “Am I glad to see you! I didn’t think anyone else had survived,” he said.

  “We were gone, collecting spring berries in the hills,” Eos said. “How did you manage to survive?”

  “Me and a few of the lads were out fishing,” Lapetus replied. “I had walked away from the shore to an outcropping of rocks to relieve myself when suddenly, the water level began to rise very quickly. I ran for higher ground, but it was too late. As I was about to be swept away, I grabbed onto some rocks. The water level went way over my head. I held tight and soon the water all went back. I moved to another group of rocks a little further inland when the second wave came in.

  “After the water receded the second time, I saw the monsters rise from the water: there were two of them. The big one was dragging the smaller one. That’s when the noise started. With every step the monsters took, the ground shook, and there was a deafening roar. After a few minutes, I saw the big monster grab the little one and throw it down right on top of our village. I don’t think anyone could have survived that. I stayed on the rocks along the shore for three days. Then yesterday the monsters went back into the river. I haven’t seen anyone else from the village since I was fishing with the guys. I came back here to look for my wife and kids one more time.”

  While Lapetus told his story, Demeter saw something move in the mud. He walked over to it and saw that it was a child. He shouted, “There’s one alive here!” He cleared away some of the mud and pulled the little one up. It was Elara, Eos’s daughter. Her leg was broken, and she was hungry but otherwise in pretty good shape. Demeter gave her some berries, and she smiled and asked for her mama. They used some rope and sticks to set her leg bone.

  After spending a few more hours searching, the team walked to the shore and spent the night near the river to get away from the smell. That night they made a fire, caught some fish, and ate it along with some of the berries that Demeter had collected. The next morning, they started searching again. As they got started, Joha’s grandmother, Rhea, walked into the search area. Joha ran to her and gave her a hug. “Gamma, I’m so glad to see you!” he said.

  “Oh, Joha, you don’t know how happy I am to see you!” Rhea replied. “I took your little brother and sisters for a walk along the river before the monster came. We found shelter in one of the caves up north. The kids are okay. They’re waiting for me in the cave. I knew you would be okay since you had gone to the mountains for berries.”

  Knowing that she would be hungry, Joha gave her some of his berries and said, “You wait here with the others. I’ll go get the kids.”

  The children were very glad to see their big brother. They were also glad to have something to eat, epically some spring berries.

  While they were walking back along the river toward the village remains, they saw a group walking just ahead of them. Joha called out to them, and they stopped and turned around. It was the village daycare leader Gaia, her two daughters, and several children.

  “Joha, it’s so good to see you!” Gaia said. “I was beginning to think we were the only ones to have survived.”

  Joha responded, “No, there are a few of us.” He proceeded to tell her about the trip to the hills and the other survivors. “How did you guys manage?” he asked.

  Gaia explained, “Early that morning, my daughters and I took the five kids from the daycare on a field trip. We walked up the north coast. One of the girls saw some flowers up on a ridge, so we hiked up there to sit and have our snack. Suddenly, we saw the waves strike. Next, we saw the beasts come out of the water and head for the village. We hiked further north for the next few days while the beasts destroyed our land.”

  Joha led the group back to the site where they had camped the night before. Joha gave Gaia the rest of his berries and sa
id, “You guys stay here, and I’ll be back before the Center Sun sets with the rest of the group.”

  The rest of the day went slow. They found several more bodies, including Joha’s mother Hera. Zumas and several others were never found. Two more were found alive: one of the original immigrants from Foelix, and another child, a little eight-year-old boy named Metis. They were both in pretty good shape. They also collected several items; stones, clay pots, a few spears, some rope, and several useful pieces of support wood were all recovered.

  That night, while sitting around the fire, it was decided that they would build a new village. Joha said, “We should not build here in the center of the valley. This is right where the Korkidilla came to land. We need to be close to the river, but we should move either to the north near the hills and the river or to the south near those hills and the river.”

  Eos said, “I think that’s a good idea, Joha. Lapetus, you have been to the hills in both the north and south. What do you think?”

  Lapetus thought for a minute before answering. “Well, I have fished this river all the way up and down the coast. The fishing is best here in the center. There are almost no fish down in the South. I think the fishing up north isn’t too bad; we could manage up there. I think there is also more diverse plant life in the north.”

  Eos said, “Ok, we will build a new village in the north. I think we should split up. Someone needs to lead the children to the north. I need two volunteers to go to the campsite where Argus is waiting with our berries and carts. For everyone else, we need to take another day or two to look for any other possible survivors in what’s left of the old village.”

  Lapetus volunteered, “If Gaia will go with me, I’ll be happy to lead the group with the kids to the north. I can catch plenty of fish to feed the group.”

  “Thank you, Lapetus,” Eos replied. “That would be great. Find a spot near the river just before the hills to set up camp; try to keep a fire going, and we will look for the smoke. Gaia, Rhea: I’d like you both to go with Lapetus to take care of the kids. Joha and Demeter, I guess you two should go get Argus and the carts and head to the north.”

  Joha injected, “We should probably take little Elara with us. Demeter and I can take turns carrying her to the camp, and from there she can ride in a cart until we get to the north.”

  “Okay, that leaves Crius, Metis and me to stay and look for more survivors,” Eos said.

  Tethys, one of Gaia’s daughters said, “I can stay and help you, Eos.”

  “So can I,” echoed Gaia’s other daughter, Dione.

  CHAPTER 11

  CAMP NORTH

  Normally, it would take about three days to walk from the center of the valley to the hills in the north, but with so many little kids, the trip took a little over five days. Once they arrived, Lapetus got a fire going. Within a few hours, Joha, Demeter, Argus, and little Elara arrived with the carts. There was a lot of work to be done, so they divided up the chores. Lapetus went fishing, Argus gathered wood and kept the fire going, and Demeter and Joha worked on getting Boli stalks to start building a hut. In the moments when the kids would allow, Rhea and Gaia worked on making rope.

  It was another three days before Eos, Metis, Crius, Dione, and Tethys made it to the camp. They brought along the two additional survivors they had come across in the village remains. Eos found his wife; a sixteen-year-old girl was also found. The girl was in pretty bad shape; she had a broken arm and leg and was sick with a fever. They carried her on a stretcher that they made. The whole group of seven was asleep within an hour after reaching the new camp.

  The next day, Eos asked everyone to gather around to discuss their plans. He began, “First of all, we have all suffered tremendous losses. Hopefully, that will never happen again with our new location here in the north. We lost our leader, my brother Zumas, so we need to pick a new leader.”

  Lapetus said, “I thought you were our new leader.”

  “I can be, if that is what you all want, but I was not going to just assume that position.”

  Gaia shouted, “All here in favor of Eos being our leader?” Everyone responded with a resounding yes.

  “Anyone opposed?” A silence fell upon the group, and then Gaia said, “I think we have our new leader.”

  “Ok. Thank you all for your confidence,” said Eos. “Well, there is no time to waste. Lapetus will be second in command, and for now, I would like you to be in charge of fishing and training the boys to fish. I need you boys to get your fishing skills down as we will need a good supply of fish to feed this village. Argus, Demeter, Joha, and Metis: each day I want one of you to go with Lapetus to work on fishing; take turns. The three that are not fishing will work on gathering resources. Today, I want you to get as many fishing spears as you can find and tomorrow work on collecting Boli wood for the huts.”

  Eos turned to the women and said, “Ladies, of course you know we have a lot of children to care for, but beyond that, one thing I need you to concentrate on is turning most of the remaining spring berries into wine before it’s too late. You will have to use Boli wood as we don’t have very many clay containers. The other thing we need desperately is rope. We will need as much as we can get to build our new village. Before we run out of rope weed leaves, I will have to send one of the boys out to get another cartful. We also need to find a new source of clay and make some new clay pots and containers. Leto, I will leave it to you to assign each girl her daily tasks.

  “Spring is almost over and the Summer Sun will be bearing down on us soon. Crius and I will concentrate on finishing the hut; then we need to consider exactly where we want our new village to be. I don’t think this is the right spot as it is so close to the river, but it will do for now. I’d like to have the new village done before winter. This summer will be a lot of hard work, but once our new village is done, things will be able to start to return to normal,” Eos concluded.

  After the meeting ended, Joha called Argus, Demeter, and Metis to go over one of his latest ideas. After that discussion, they decided that Metis would be the first one to go fishing with Lapetus.

  After spending the day looking for and gathering spear sticks, Joha went to talk with Eos. “How did you guys do with the spears today?” Eos asked.

  “Well, it took us a while to find a good spot, but once we did, we got enough sticks to last a long time,” Joha answered. “We are going to sharpen a few next. I know you told us to do a rotation with one of us fishing and the rest gathering. I do have an idea, though and would like to get out of the rotation so I can develop it.”

  “What sort of idea?” Eos asked.

  “Well,” said Joha, “I can’t stop thinking about Artemis and how the vent gas could have killed him. So what I really want to do is study the vent gas, but I know that our first priority has to be feeding this village. I’ve been thinking about that too. I have an idea on how to improve the fishing process. Currently, we have to fish by either standing on the shore or on a rock sticking out of the water, which I think hinders our ability to get to the fish. What I want to do is build a structure that will stick out over the water and allow us to get a much better angle on the fish.”

  Eos enthusiastically replied, “That sounds like a great idea, Joha! Please start on it right away, and don’t worry about the rotation. Just tell the other guys what’s happening.”

  Joha smiled and said, “Great, I’ve already talked with the others and they’re fine with it. I’ll still be working with them as I will need to gather resources for my structure and will still take fishing instruction from Lapetus. There may be an occasion when I will need a little help and thought I would use whichever lad is on fishing duty for an hour or so once in a while, if that’s ok?”

  “Not a problem, boy, just don’t let it interfere with their fishing instructions from Lapetus,” Eos said.

  “One other thing, Eos,” Joha said. “You mentioned that someone will need to go get more rope weed a little later. I want to volunteer for that trip. M
y structure will need a lot of rope to hold it all together, and I also want to do a few experiments on the vent out there. Then I can make the trip and do both jobs at the same time.”

  “Ok, Joha, I think that will be just fine,” Eos said. “Let me know when the rope weed starts to run low and we will work out the details of the trip.”

  CHAPTER 12

  FISHING DOCK

  The next day was Demeter’s turn to go with Lapetus. Joha went with the other boys looking for Boli plants, but found nothing. The day after that they went in the opposite direction and had better luck but had to go quite a distance to get the stalks. On the third day, they took all three carts and made the long hike to where the plants grew. They filled their carts with as many Boli stalks as they would hold. Two carts full would go toward the huts, and one cart would be for Joha’s new fishing dock. Next, Joha had to make some rope. He recruited a couple of the ladies to help him. After a full day of the three of them making rope, Joha felt he had all the resources he needed to get a good start.

  The next morning was Argus’s turn to go to the river with Lapetus. Joha joined them, bringing his cart of Boli stalks, piles of rope, and a few tools. First, he sat in on fishing class with Argus. Lapetus worked on teaching the lads good ways to throw the spear. They practiced for an hour on shore throwing at leaves. Afterward, Joha asked Lapetus to help him find the best place for his new dock.

  Joha had a lot of trouble getting the support post sunk deep enough into the ground because of all the rocks. After resolving that problem and many days of hard work, he finally was nearing completion.

  One evening while he was adding the last few pieces, he decided not to stop for dinner and to just keep going. He was determined to get it finished.