The Search for Cleo

by Aaron J. Ethridge

  “I do not like this place, Doc,” Morgan asserted. “Underground lakes are just creepy.”

  “You really think so?” Doc chuckled. “All the lakes on Pallsar are underground.”

  “Pallsar?”

  “That's the real name of my home planet.”

  “Ah... Can we just keep calling it Baguette? I'm used to that.”

  “Sure,” Doc replied with another laugh before casting his worm-covered hook into the water.

  “Either way, the lakes are underground?”

  “They are,” he nodded. “They're a lot like this, actually. Except that there's usually a lot more light.”

  “From what?”

  “Bioluminescent plant life.”

  “Really?” Morgan asked.

  “Indeed.”

  “What color is it?”

  “Every color in the rainbow, Morgan,” Doc explained. “A majority of it produces white light, though.”

  “I'll bet it's beautiful.”

  “It is,” Doc nodded. “One day you may get to... Hold on... There we go...”

  As Doc looked on with a wide smile, his bobber began to move across the surface of the lake. Suddenly, it sank beneath the water. Doc yanked back on his rod and started to feverishly real it in. Moments later, he had beached what appeared to be a large, blind catfish with several tentacle-like legs hanging from its body. As soon as it touched the shore, it stood up and began running in Morgan's general direction. In response, the young man screamed at the top of his lungs, drew his energy pistol, and shot it until it stopped moving.

  “I really wish you hadn't done that,” Doc said, shaking his head.

  “Why?” Morgan asked, his eyes still locked on the dead fish.

  “I'm afraid you've burned a majority of it.”

  “I see what you mean,” the young man nodded, snuffing the air. “That definitely smells like burned fish.”

  “What happened?” Azure asked as she shot from the entrance to the lake, followed immediately by Vox – both of them with their weapons at the ready.

  “Morgan was attacked by that,” Doc laughed, pointing at the dead fish.

  “That's amazing,” the blue maiden replied. “It almost looks like a blurn fish from back home. They have eyes, though.”

  “Are they any good to eat?” Doc asked.

  “They're delicious,” she assured him.

  “Perfect,” he smiled, readying his hook once again.

  As it turned out, the lake was simply brimming with fish and in, less than half-an-hour, they had more than enough for everyone to eat their fill. By the time they returned with their catch, Robert had prepared a fire in the central chamber that joined all their current “rooms” together. While Doc cleaned the fish and Celeste began cooking them, the rest of the companions sat around the glowing blaze discussing their situation.

  “How long do you think it'll take Joe to figure out that things have gone wrong?” Morgan asked.

  “I doubt he will,” Robert said thoughtfully.

  “He'll just about have to,” Morgan disagreed. “When we don't show back up, he's going to put two and two together.”

  “Sturm has a plan, Morgan,” Robert replied as he sat on the floor pressing buttons on one of the portable computers Cleo had brought with them. “Although we don't know what it is, we can be sure it will keep anyone from sending a rescue party for us.”

  “How could he stop that?”

  “Maybe he'll just come up with some clever lie,” Cleo said, smiling at her fiancé.

  “Cute, dear,” he replied with mock disdain.

  Suddenly, Morgan snapped his fingers.

  “Let's just give 'em a call,” he said. “The car's comm should be able to reach Never Never Land if Vox can...”

  “Sturm's blocking it,” Robert said without looking up from the screen.

  “Even if he is,” Morgan said, “wouldn't they be able to...”

  “No,” the traveler interjected.

  For several moments, Morgan sat in thoughtful silence.

  “Well, what if we just...” he began.

  “No,” Robert said, cutting him off again.

  “You haven't even heard his idea yet,” Azure pointed out.

  “It's bad,” Robert replied, shaking his head. “Trust me.”

  “You don't know that,” Cleo asserted. “Morgan often has very good ideas.”

  “Name one.”

  “It was his idea for you to finally ask me to marry you.”

  “Who told you that?” he asked with a rising inflection.

  “I figured it out,” she explained.

  “That was my idea,” he claimed. “Morgan just pointed out that I was taking too long to put it into action.”

  “It was his idea to...” Azure began.

  “Alright,” Robert sighed. “I give up. Morgan, what's your idea?”

  “I'm not going to tell you now.”

  “Fair enough,” the traveler chuckled.

  “I'll tell you tomorrow,” Morgan replied.

  “Suit yourself,” Robert smiled before suddenly drawing his pistol – his eyes still on the screen – and shooting toward the ceiling at what seemed to be nothing at all.

  This attack struck an invisible target (which immediately became visible), and a probe about the size of a basketball fell to the floor.

  “If it turns out to be a good plan,” Robert said, “it's better that you didn't say anything while that was buzzing around.”

  “Where did it come from?” the young man asked, gazing at the disabled device.

  “Sturm,” Vox speculated.

  “Precisely,” Robert nodded. “You didn't really think he'd just leave us here and assume we couldn't get away, did you?”

  “I did until you asked that,” Morgan admitted.

  “We can be sure that there are more of those around,” the traveler pointed out. “Which is nice, really, because we need all the parts we can get. For the moment, though, there aren't any more nearby.”

  “How did you see it?”

  “The computer did.”

  “That makes sense, I guess.”

  Minutes after this bit of excitement, the entire crew was sprawled around the campfire quietly enjoying their meals.

  “So...” Azure asked softly, turning her eyes to Morgan. “What's your idea?”

  “It's a simple, but brilliant plan,” he replied. “Vox actually planted the seed in my brain right after we got here.”

  “What is it?”

  “Our main problem is that we're short on labor,” he explained. “If there were a few dozen of us, we'd be able to push our technological level forward fast enough to build a time-drive before we all die of old age.”

  “I don't think Doc is going to be able to clone us anytime soon,” she opined.

  “Don't be silly,” he chuckled quietly. “That's not what I'm saying at all.”

  “Then, what are you saying?”

  “That we have to do our duty,” he replied, “and populate the planet ourselves.”

  “Our duty?”

  “Yeah,” he nodded. “Not that I won't enjoy it, of course. In fact, I think I'd enjoy it more than anything else in the...”

  “Wouldn't we need to be married first?” she interjected. “Seeing as how a preacher might be hard to find...”

  “Rob's the captain,” Morgan pointed out. “He can marry us.”

  “Then, we're just supposed to populate the planet all on our own?”

  “No,” he said, shaking his head. “Cleo and Rob will have to help. And, really, even Vox and Celeste can get in on the action...”

  “The action?”

  “I mean,” he continued, “Celeste loves kids. She'd probably leap at the chance.”

  “Who's going to marry Rob and Cleo?”

  “Hmmm,” Morgan hummed thoughtfully. “We can have an election and make Rob governor of the colony. Then, he can appoint Doc justice of the peace and he'll be able to marry them.”


  “Rob was right,” she laughed softly. “That is a bad idea.”

  “So, you won't do it?”

  “I'm not saying that,” she replied with a slight blush, literally stunning the young man speechless, “I'm just saying that I hope Rob comes up with a better idea.”

  For several moments, Morgan sat in contemplative silence.

  “I don't,” he finally replied.

  Chapter 6: Back to the Basics

  “Get up, Morgan,” Robert said, gently kicking his friend in the side.

  “What?” the young man replied groggily.

  “Get up,” the traveler repeated. “We've got a lot of work to do today.”

  “Aye, aye, sir,” Morgan saluted, doing his best to move as little of his body as possible.

  Shortly after the crew had consumed its meal the preceding evening, their captain decided that they would call it a night. He designated three of the cavernous chambers as their “rooms” and ordered everyone to go to “bed”. Vox and Celeste shared one bedroom, Cleo and Azure another, and Morgan, Robert, and Doc a third. At the time, Morgan pointed out that there were more than three rooms, but Robert assured him that the others were going to end up being used for “other things”.

  As they crawled into their beds – which were some of Vox and Celeste's clothes thrown on the floor – Morgan couldn't help but feel a sense of disappointment. He had always thought it would be really cool to spend the night in a cave. As it turned out, it wasn't.

  Although the firelight in the main chamber had been lovely, Morgan found their single flashlight pointed toward the ceiling a very poor substitute for a real lamp. If nothing else, it needed a shade. It was downright glaring, and it didn't brighten up the corners of the room in any perceptible way. On top of which, when Robert turned it off, it got dark. Like impossible to see anything dark. Not that Morgan would have been bothered by that under normal circumstances, but he was afraid he might break his neck if he had to go to the PPSU in the middle of the night.

  In addition to this lack of proper lighting was the fact that the floor was as hard as stone. Which is to say; the floor was stone. One of Celeste's longer dresses managed to keep it from being freezing cold, but it didn't provide enough padding to keep his back from aching during the unbelievably long night – not to mention his sides, shoulders, knees, etc. One of Vox's shirts also didn't make much of a pillow. It was better than nothing, but not by much.

  “Get up,” Robert said a third time, renewing his kicks.

  “I am,” Morgan basically lied. “Give me a minute.”

  “I gave you five.”

  “I must have fallen back to sleep,” the young man groaned as he stretched his stiff joints. “Is everyone else up yet?”

  “Nope,” Robert replied. “It's just you and me so far. I figured you'd want a chance to get yourself cleaned up before we woke the girls. I don't like seeing you like this, so I'm sure they wouldn't want to.”

  “I suppose...” Morgan began, finally cracking one eye. “You look ridiculous, by the way.”

  “In what way?”

  “You're covered in stubble.”

  “I know,” Robert nodded. “Amazingly, I forgot to grab my razor when we were fleeing for our lives.”

  “You’d better find a way to shave,” Morgan asserted. “You look like Peter Pan with a beard.”

  “It's not really a 'beard' yet,” he replied, rubbing his hand across his stubbly chin. “On top of which, the PPSU can 'shave' us. I just don't like the way it feels.”

  “How does it feel?”

  “Like having your face ripped off,” Robert claimed. “At least, that's how it feels to me.”

  “Pass,” Morgan said, rubbing his own stubble. “Where did you put my toothbrush?”

  Just minutes later, Morgan had brushed his teeth, had a quick, water-free shower in the PPSU, and – as per Robert's instructions – washed his clothes out in the not-really-a-sink. As soon as Robert had followed suit, the pair made their way to the maidens' chamber. As they approached, Morgan could make out the hum of one of the portable air conditioners.

  “That's weird,” he observed aloud.

  “What's weird?” Robert asked.

  “It has to be about sixty degrees in here.”

  “About that.”

  “I like it that cold when I'm trying to sleep,” Morgan continued, “but I wouldn't want it very much colder than that, and I certainly wouldn't have thought that the girls would have.”

  “What do you... Oh! Right,” the traveler nodded. “They're not just air conditioners, they're also heaters. You can be sure Cleo got it as close to eighty degrees as she could.”

  “I couldn't sleep if it was that hot.”

  “Neither could I,” Robert asserted. “Once we're married, I'm going to have to get a set of those sheets that cool one side of the bed and heat the other. All that has nothing to do with anything right now, though. Cleo, love, it's time to get up.”

  As he said this, Robert pointed the flashlight at her face. As beautiful as she was, Morgan couldn't help but feel that she simply wasn't as attractive as usual. Her hair was all over the place, she was completely tangled up in the pile of clothes that was her bed, and her mouth was hanging half-open. She was still an easy ten, but it suddenly struck him that she was normally at least an eleven.

  The moment she began to move, Robert turned the light to Ensign Holiday. The blue maiden was also a still-very-attractive mess of tangled hair and temporary-bedclothes. Unlike Cleo, however, Azure almost instantly opened her eyes, threatening to kill both of them if Robert didn't get that light out of her face. In reply, Robert merely laughed and turned the flashlight back toward his love.

  “Go away,” Cleo said, pulling one of Vox's giant shirts over her head. “I don't want you to see me like this.”

  “You're gorgeous,” Robert replied with a wide smile.

  “You're a liar,” she replied from under the pile.

  “You have to get up,” he explained. “I need your help.”

  “We are up,” Azure replied.

  “No, you're not,” he disagreed. “You're awake. There's a difference.”

  “If you'll go away,” she said, “we'll get up.”

  “I'll take your word for it this time,” he chuckled, once again shining the light in her face. “You look gorgeous as well, by the way.”

  “Rob,” she said, pulling clothes over her own head, “I've never slapped you in the face before, for a variety of reasons, but if you don't turn that light off and...”

  “Alright,” he laughed, pointing the flashlight toward the floor, “I give. We'll leave you alone. Just do your best to hurry.”

  With the girls attended to, Robert gave Doc a shout, as well as Vox and Celeste. He and Morgan then rekindled the fire in the main chamber and sat down on the floor awaiting their companions.

  “I'm genuinely curious,” Morgan said. “Do you really think they looked 'gorgeous'?”

  “No,” Robert replied, shaking his head. “No, I lied. In my experience, all women love the 'you look gorgeous even when you've just woken up' lie. I truly feel that it's a classic.”

  “You don't think it might come back to bite us?”

  “Not a chance,” he assured his companion. “I mean; we know they looked like the very devil...”

  “I wouldn't go that far,” Morgan interjected.

  “But they don't know that we know that,” the traveler continued. “On top of which, compared to your average, everyday woman, they really were gorgeous. At least, to us they were. After all, we're in love with them.”

  “Yeah,” Morgan nodded. “I guess we really are.”

  “Really are what?” Cleo asked, stepping into the chamber looking – and sounding – much more like her normal self.

  “Really are in love with you,” Robert said with a wide grin, somehow resisting the temptation to lie just for fun.

  “I know that's not what you boys were talking about,” she replied, rolling her
eyes as she approached him.

  “Fortunately for you two, though,” Azure added, following her into the room, “we're too tired to care at the moment. Last night was horrible.”

  “It was,” Robert agreed. “We're going to have improve the conditions around here by tonight.”

  “You ain't kidding, boss,” Vox said as he and his bride strode through the chamber headed in the direction of the PPSU.

  “Even I had a bad night,” Doc asserted, slowly sauntering into the room, “and I'm usually pretty good at roughing it.”

  “We'll have beds by tonight,” Robert replied.

  “That would certainly be an improvement,” Doc said, taking a seat at the side of his friend.

  “What are you doing?” the traveler chuckled, as Cleo began rubbing her hand across his chin.

  “I've never seen you with facial hair before,” she explained. “It's kind of attractive.”

  “You want me to grow a Grizzly Adams beard?”

  “I don't think I'd go that far,” she laughed.

  “What do you think of my facial hair, Azure?” Morgan asked, holding his chin out for her inspection.

  “You already need to shave your neck,” she opined.

  “I'll try to find a way to do that by tonight.”

  “I would appreciate it.”

  Mere minutes later, Vox, Celeste, and Doc had all finished their morning routines and the entire band was ready for breakfast.

  “We've got an almost epic amount of work to do,” Robert said as soon as he had swallowed his first bite. “Escaping this little trap isn't going to be the easiest thing we've ever done, and it's probably going to take us a few weeks to do it – at the very least. Seeing as how we're not going to want to live like animals during that time, we're also going to have to improve our conditions – which is going to add even more to the workload.”

  “Where do we start?” Vox asked.

  “We're going to pull the car completely apart,” he replied.

  “What sense does that make?” Morgan asked. “At the moment, at least we have a vehicle.”

  “Yes, we do,” Robert agreed. “We have a vehicle that can't take us where we want to go.”

  “Where is that, exactly?”