Crow - The Awakening

by Michael J. Vanecek

  "How is he able to punch through Sadari jamming without them noticing?" Migalo looked over Lohet's shoulder at the scanner readings.

  Lohet didn't answer right away but continued walking around, trying to map the gateway and find the weakest part. The energy was in flux, however. "I'm not entirely convinced that they haven't noticed it, Migalo," he finally answered.

  "Do you think they let him?" Migalo was dumbstruck at the concept.

  "They could not have stopped a deviant." Lohet pocketed his scanner and looked around. "And if they know of his existence, then the mission is in great peril already."

  Penipe emerged from the forest, a hint of her former graceful self finally starting to show, though her chest was still wrapped up and in pain. Sirel remained in the canopy, keeping an eye on their location from a higher perspective.

  "Penipe, a communicator please." Lohet walked up to the tree as Penipe arrived and Penipe followed him, reaching into her belt and pulling out a communicator. The communicator was a small brass button that radiated on a bandwidth only their technology can discern and even then was very restricted to just a certain subset of receivers. To anyone stumbling on the frequency, it would be background noise since it used ambient radiation to mask its existence. The technology was developed specifically to thwart Sadari detection.

  Lohet received the button from Penipe and loaded it with the data that they were sent to acquire. Then he jammed a finger into a crack in the dead wood of the tree and twisted his hand until the crack got bigger. Into that he stuffed the communicator then he removed his finger so the crack shrank back down, effectively concealing the device.

  "What good is that without the gateway?" Penipe asked, not being privy to the discussion between Lohet and Migalo.

  "The gateway is residual." Lohet stepped back and looked around the meadow. "I suspect when the deviant has an incident, the gateway becomes more corporeal."

  “That is how he maintains a bond with Asherah!” Penipe gasped. Lohet looked at her, remembering the devastating pain she went through when they first arrived when her own bond was broken. Lelana was likewise incapacitated. After they arrived, the Sadari clamped down on the fracture and abolished the gateway completely, severing Penipe from her bond-mate. It nearly killed her. It took a long time for her to recover. And Penipe was several centuries old and very strong. Asherah is only a child.

  "Yes. If we find him again he may have another incident." Lohet returned to the discussion at hand.

  "So even if we fail, we succeed," Migalo grumbled. Lohet nodded and returned to the forest. Penipe and Migalo followed. Sirel descended and met them.

  "We must go to the house," Sirel advised and held out her hands to them.

  After a full afternoon of work, Laurence finally finished copying the evidence they had found and sent the data back to their labs for further processing. Much of it was Steven’s drawings, and he was a prolific artist. He sat back on the couch to ponder his next moves. The forensics specialists were busy putting the items they had found back in the places they originally found them and putting the home back in order. Their goal was to leave the house much in the same shape as they found it, hoping that the family would return and perhaps stay long enough to intercept them.

  The microscope sat on the coffee table and Laurence couldn't help but be impressed. Most of it was comprised of custom turned and machined alloys fabricated with great precision in the little shop on the homestead. He had seen bits and pieces of projects in the shop already, including experiments on Stirling cycle engines and cryocoolers. The final assembly of the microscope wasn't very large, but it didn't have to be. After all, it was built to look at very small samples. The sample was still sealed in the microscope and under extreme vacuum, so he would have to send it off to the lab for them to process. He would very much like to know exactly what Steven was so interested in that he would go through the effort and expense to build such a device.

  Laurence sighed and looked around. The team was very efficient at the job they were assigned to do. It was time for him to leave. One of the forensics team came in with a small wooden crate and packed up the microscope and vacuum pump and carried it out of the house. Suddenly feeling useless, Laurence grabbed up his gear and headed to his car. He put his hand on the hood, looking at the paw prints that covered it. It had scratches and his door was dented from the problem with the wolves and he shook his head, disappointed. He liked that car. He would have to make a point of coming back for some wolf hunting when all was said and done with this mission. Getting in, he turned on his GPS and pulled up Seattle. It was time to move operations there and intercept the child once and for all.

  Steven lost track of how far he had run as he trotted through the forest. The forest all looked the same, even the infrequent ravines, streams and rocks. Occasionally he would be joined by various denizens of the forest like the wolves and elk as he trotted along. It was enormously comforting to have their presence nearby and he stayed on the forest floor, rather than in the canopy, to enjoy their company. Steven felt alone for the first time, with Sally and Jonah not part of his life at the moment. He hoped desperately that he'd be able to repair that bridge later on. A wolf nuzzled his hand as he ran along and he scratched its ears. It was like the wolf could sense the melancholy he was experiencing and tried to comfort him. Always his friends, even from childhood.

  At the same time, part of him felt liberated. No longer was he hiding from them, or lying to them. He hated lying to his godparents. They treated him so well and their relationship was so close, it ate at him to have to hide that one major part of his life from them. But his current predicament was exactly why he hid it from them for so long. Now he was on his own and free from that stress.

  Late afternoon found Steven suddenly quite famished. He found a comfortable stump to sit on and he dug through his bag for some berries and mushrooms. A puma ambled by, marking her territory as she went, then disappeared silently into the forest. Steven munched his berries, taking in the silence and serenity of the forest. Its energy ebbed and flowed around him, like a living thing that embraced him in warmth and calm. He took a deep breath, closing his eyes. The trees seemed to speak to him in their own language, soothing his inner turmoil over leaving his family. He could feel the life that was abundantly present around him. He couldn't help but think how he had taken this all for granted, so focused was he on his search for his parents, or his fantasy, or even his accelerated college course. He had never really taken the time to just stop and experience life around him.

  A strange bear ambled up to him. Most of the animals in this part of the forest were strangers to him now. And yet they all seemed be familiar with him. He held out a handful of berries and grinned as the bear lapped the berries up then put its massive head in his lap. Such strength was mesmerizing. Steven scratched behind its ears as it closed its eyes and soaked in the attention.

  "It is good to have friends like you," he said to the predator. He remembered the days back when he used to have pretend animals for friends, inspired by his godparent's books. That seemed like eons ago. Then getting lost in the forest and having one of those animals, real this time, guide him home. Ever since then he has not wanted for friends and the entire forest was his family. And it dawned on him that the forest was reminding him of that. He was surrounded by more life than he had experienced in the forest in a long time. He grinned, grateful. He grabbed a new mushroom from the stump he was sitting on and nibbled it, migrating his thoughts to his next steps. It wasn't time to set up camp yet so a few more miles would definitely be a good thing, he thought.

  The bear grunted and walked off into the forest, as if sensing that Steven was about to depart again, and Steven zipped up his bag and hopped off the trunk. A small herd of elk followed him as he got back to running again, trotting easily through the underbrush and ferns of the forest. One of the elk pulled even with him, easily keeping pace and he grabbed the thick fur on the top of its neck and let it pull him alon
g. After a few miles they finally veered off, and Steven found himself running solo again. But he didn't really feel alone, and even in his solitude the life around him made him feel like he was amongst a crowd of close friends.

  But something was a little different. There was a presence in the forest that didn't quite fit. As he loped through the underbrush he was able to discern where the presence was. Curious, he started zeroing in on it. It didn't exactly take him far off course, after all. As he slipped through the underbrush he started to smell something, faintly at first but getting stronger. It was a fire. Someone camping out in the woods, perhaps? The idea made him hesitate. He wasn't prepared to interact with people just yet, at least until he reached Seattle. But he decided to at least take a peek and see who it was.

  The camp was quiet. There was a smoking grill by the door of a modest RV. Steven scanned the forest for any sign of the campers. He felt someone down by the small river that passed by the campsite and he skirted around the perimeter of the small clearing to get a better look. A man and his wife were sitting on a log hanging their legs over the bank of the river. Steven wasn’t sure, but they appeared to be his godparent’s age. The man was cleaning a couple of fish while the woman chatted with him. They both looked totally relaxed and very much enjoying each others company, so Steven decided to continue on without bothering them. But before he could leave, he heard a noise nearby and they both looked over in his direction, frozen. Steven froze as well, wondering if they had seen him. He was still pretty well concealed by the undergrowth through which he was peeking, though.

  A large bear suddenly emerged from the underbrush, ambling over to where Steven was hiding, and Steven had to scoot out of its way as it re-entered the forest while giving him a solid bump, knocking him over and out of the underbrush with its massive shoulder as it moseyed by. Steven could swear he saw a grin on the bear as it looked at him and grunted. His cover blown, he clambered to his feet and turned to the couple who were still frozen, and waved sheepishly at them.

  "Um...hi?" Steven offered, resisting the temptation to give the bear a swift kick for outing him as he picked his bag up off the ground. The lady waved as if automatically as they stared at the bear that silently disappeared back into the forest. There was a can of pepper spray sitting by them but they had been taken so much by surprise they did little more than gape. Steven coughed and they seemed to wake up and notice him. The lady's eyes got big as she realized that he'd been knocked down by the bear.

  "Are you okay?" the man asked, concerned for his safety as the woman reached down for the pepper spray and held it close while she scanned the forest for the bear.

  "What? Me?" Steven was a little taken aback by the question. "Well, the bear did knock me over but I think he did that on purpose."

  They both looked at him, so Steven tried to explain. "I was just passing by and saw you and the bear saw me hiding in the bush and..." he trailed off, realizing how that would sound to people who had no idea how connected he was to the forest. "Um. Yeah. I'm okay," he answered, nodding.

  "Come here," the lady whispered loudly, waving him over with her free hand. Steven looked around then walked over. She grabbed his hand and looked past him at where the bear had gone. "You're safe now. The bear is gone."

  "No, he's hanging out about fifty feet that way eating some berries." Steven pointed. He noticed their quizzical look and it dawned on him that these were not his godparents or people who knew him. "But we're safe. Really," he assured them. They looked at each other. Steven suddenly felt awkward and coughed, looking around uncomfortably. This encounter wasn't planned in the first place, and now it was getting just plain weird.

  "Well, I should be going now. I'm really sorry to have bothered you." Steven walked over and picked up his staff, then started back into the forest to where the bear was. The berries appealed to him. He was starting to get hungry again, and some berries to go with his remaining mushrooms sounded like a good dinner.

  "Wait!" the woman called after him as he started to slip into the forest after the bear. She looked at the man then back to him. "Are you... hungry?"

  "Well, I was going to grab some of those berries before the bear hogs them all," Steven answered, looking over his shoulder. He started walking again. He had no idea how many were left on the bushes.

  "Want some fish?" the woman offered quickly. Steven stopped and looked back. Did they actually seem concerned for him? But the fish offer did sound tempting.

  "Well, that does sound pretty good." Steven's stomach grumbled. He looked over where the berries were then decided the fish made for a better dinner tonight. "I'd really hate to be a bother, though."

  "No bother at all," the man said, waving him over.

  Steven walked up and looked at the fish. Trout, and plenty large enough. “I’ve got some mushrooms that might go good with that,” he offered, putting his backpack down and digging in one of the pockets. He pulled out some of the mushrooms that he had picked earlier in the day.

  "That sounds yummy." The man looked at the mushrooms, examining them. "Yeah, these are edible."

  "You know mushrooms?" Steven grinned. "Cool."

  "I'm Charley Windsong, and this is Sarah," Charley introduced himself, reaching out a hand.

  Steven shook it. It was still wet from the fish and he smiled as Charley realized it just as Steven shook it. "Oops, sorry," Charley said as he grabbed a rag and handed it to Steven.

  "No problem," Steven smiled, laughing as he wiped his hand. "I'm Steven."

  He knelt down and started cleaning one of the fish. Sarah stared at him for a moment, a perplexed look on her face.

  "Why weren't you afraid of the bear?" she asked directly.

  "Why?" Steven asked reflexively, looking up as he finished the fish. Charley retrieved it and they walked over to the grill and he pulled out his seasoning kit and got to work grilling the fish.

  Sarah didn't know how to answer that. She started to respond, but stopped herself. She thought to answer 'because it was a bear,' but didn't want to appear rude. Such a strange kid, she thought to herself.

  "So, where are you headed?" Charley asked, making small talk as he cooked up the fish.

  "Seattle," Steven answered, sitting down in one of the chairs they had positioned by the grill. The fish smelled good. Steven handed Charley more of the mushrooms and he prepared and grilled those too.

  "You're walking there?" Sarah looked shocked.

  "Well, yeah." Steven was actually running but that was close enough. "It's not that bad though."

  "Through the forest?" Charley looked at him, noting the leaves that clung to him.

  "All by yourself?" Sarah asked, looking at Charley then back at Steven.

  Steven nodded, perplexed. "Of course." He shook his head and looked at them. "Why?"

  "Don't get us wrong. We love nature and everything. But the bears. Mountain lions. Wolves," Charley explained, listing off possible dangers of walking through the forest.

  "Snakes," Sarah added.

  Steven opened his mouth then shut it. Explaining that would probably take all night, so he just shrugged.

  "Well, you're just going to have to ride with us," Sarah said as she picked a third plate from their picnic basket and handed the plates to Charley. "We're going back tomorrow."

  "Oh, that's okay. Really. Going through the forest is no problem for me." Steven felt sheepish all of a sudden.

  "Don't be silly. It's no problem at all," Charley said. Sarah nodded emphatically. Steven looked at them for a moment, humbled by their generosity. Suddenly he didn't feel so alone. A ride to town would save him a lot of time, too. He smiled as he received his plate. The fish smelled delicious.

  "Well, okay then. Thanks," Steven said, then dug into the fish. He was famished and it wasn't long before his plate was cleaned off. They sat back and enjoyed the evening as their food digested.

  "Do you play guitar?" Charley asked. Sarah disappeared into the RV and emerged with a couple of guitars.

/>   "A little." Steven wiped his hands and took one of the guitars and tuned it. Charley and Sarah smiled at each other as Charley tuned the other guitar.

  "So, what do you want to play?" Charley looked at Steven.

  Steven grinned. "Have you heard of the little teapot song?"

  Sarah and Charley stared at him.

  "Just kidding." He absentmindedly strummed on the guitar and realized that he was playing the song that Asherah used to sing to him. He stopped abruptly.

  "That was beautiful!" Sarah exclaimed. "Play it again."

  Steven looked down at the guitar. He really didn't want to. It reminded him of Asherah. But he didn’t want to disappoint his hosts. So after a moment to collect himself, he began playing the song again. Charley joined in and Sarah improvised words to the song, her lilting voice filling the forest as they strummed away. Steven smiled and helped with the lyrics since he knew the song well, though Sarah was confused by the Elvish. Steven said it was Gaelic and she seemed satisfied and went with it. Her tone wasn't quite the Celtic sound Steven had grown accustomed to from Asherah, but her own quirky lilt added a new quality to the song and it wasn't long before Steven was lost in it, not realizing that he was singing to a love that was, to him, a fantasy. Fantasy or not, he still liked the song and apparently his hosts did too.

  The sun set on them as they worked that song out then played several others. Steven couldn't help but remember his evenings with Sally and Jonah, and how similar this one was. He was homesick, but at the same time, thankful for Charley and Sarah. It was like life knew that he would be all alone and stepped in to fill the void. Sarah even looked remarkably like Sally.

  After they cleaned up the dishes, Steven started off into the forest.

  "Where are you going?" Sarah asked.

  "There's a good spot over there for me to sleep for the night," Steven said, hiking his backpack up.

  "We have room inside the RV."

  Steven smiled. "No, that's okay. I'll be fine." He disappeared into the woods before she could respond. He preferred the forest to a cramped RV and didn't know how to explain to them that he was perfectly safe. There was not an animal in the forest that would harm him.