“Honey,” a short, older woman was suddenly at my side looking up at me, “Oh dear!”
I heard a door open behind us. I pounded on the silver doors with both fists, wondering why it wouldn’t open. The man was suddenly screaming obscenities at me, but I refused to turn around. I never wanted to see him again.
“One more step and I’ll ventilate your skull,” the old woman hollered.
I turned, suddenly worried by the woman’s change in attitude. I was startled to see that she had leveled a plasma pistol toward the man who still wore nothing but his underwear. He stopped abruptly and was currently showing her the palms of his hands.
“Now, calm down there, Darla! I was just chasing down a woman who tried to steal from me.”
“Yeah, sure looks like that to me, Alan,” she said, “And the handprint on her face looks like a perfect match for your hand. This is the second time you’ve looked for trouble in my hotel. I don’t think I want you staying here anymore.”
I heard a chime behind me, followed by the sound of the doors opening. I didn’t want to see the man anymore and I especially didn’t want to see someone getting killed with a plasma pistol, so I turned quickly and rushed into the small room. The old lady backed up into the same room, keeping her weapon pointed at the horrible man. The doors closed and she jabbed one of the buttons at the bottom.
“What floor, honey?” she asked.
“Do you know that man? Why did he think he could try to make love to me?” I asked, “He tried to kiss me too.”
“Are you kidding? I sort of figured you weren’t one of my girls, but... How old are you, kid?” she asked.
“I’m sixteen,” I said, “I just want to go home. I want to leave here and go home.”
“Yes, it would definitely be best if you left. Where do you live?” she asked, tucking the pistol into her purse.
“Valhalla,” I said, “I stole my boyfriend’s hopper to-”
“Valhalla? He must have hit you pretty hard. We should have you checked out before we send you off. I think we might have a doctor down there at the craps table.”
“I flew the hopper here from Valhalla and even parked it on the beach. Someone stole it though,” I felt like I was going to cry again, “I’ve got to get back, but I don’t know how.”
“No one lives on Valhalla,” she said, suddenly hitting a button on the elevator and causing the floor to jerk, “Wait, when did you park your hopper on the beach?”
“Not long ago. Maybe an hour ago? Two hours? I don’t really remember,” I said.
“The police were just here asking if we saw anyone wearing US Navy clothing and to keep an eye out for such things,” she said, “What color was your hopper?”
I crossed my arms in front of me and then looked down at my dress. Although somewhat wrinkled now, it still covered me appropriately.
“My hopper was beige with the number ‘42’ on the stabilizer fin,” I explained.
“Beige,” she repeated, “There should be no beige hoppers left on KMA. Not after the black hole incident.”
“It’s the only color hoppers we’ve ever had in my village. We have three hoppers and they are all beige,” I said, “They were left there when the Navy fled.”
“Left there… in Valhalla,” she repeated.
“Yes, why are you acting like you don’t you believe me? I need to go home. I’ll show you where it is on my tablet if you can fly me there,” I pleaded.
She hit a button by the door and the floor suddenly moved.
Thatcher Stark
Chapter Twenty
This was a place of play, I quickly discovered. The rows of golden machines were a sort of spinning-wheel match game and if you won the game, it spilled out a lot of metal discs. I stood there near the door with my hands on my hips watching as these people moved from machine to machine. I couldn’t see what was going on further into the room, but it looked like there were more options of play than just these rows of golden machines.
It took a little questioning for me to discover that this place offered another sort of ‘play’ I’d never considered before. I had been approached by two different attractive women asking if I’d like to spend some time with them. The first one I had declined, simply stating that I was waiting for a friend. The second woman asked the same thing, except she went so far as to tell me exactly what she was offering. It was in that moment that I realized what the other woman had been offering me as well.
The concept intrigued me actually. I’d never considered the fact that a woman could, if she were willing to sacrifice her morals, her reputation, and her fidelity, actually make money by renting herself out. And since both of the women who’d approached me were quite lovely, it would take a man of strong willpower to deny such a proposition. I myself had to wonder what I’d do if I had the sort of money they were asking for.
My thoughts instantly returned to Henley. I knew in that moment that I wouldn’t throw away what had belonged to the girl I loved. If I had the money, I’d have mentally struggled a bit I’m certain, but I would have ultimately refused the opportunity.
I was getting nervous now since no one returned yet with Henley. The tablet definitely stated that she was inside the building and for as long as the others had been gone, they should have located her by now. I looked deep into the room, searching for anyone familiar now. I wanted to verify that my dad was even still walking around in there.
Suddenly I was attacked, arms clamping me tightly from the side as I was nearly knocked into a golden machine. I was about to struggle against my attacker when she spoke.
“I’m sorry, Thatch!” she cried.
I melted instantly and wrapped her in an embrace, seeing the other three approaching alongside a grey-haired stout woman. I could feel Henley’s sobs as her face was pressed into my chest. I stroked her head, whispering my gratitude that she was alive.
“Let’s get out of here, and quick,” my dad said, tugging at my shirt sleeve.
“Henley, we need to… oh my!” I said, noticing the radiating handprint on her cheek, “What happened?”
“She was attacked, dear,” the woman said, “We need to go now. I have a passenger shuttle next door.”
“Who’s this?” I asked.
“Lane Edwards’ sister,” Henley said, kissing me three times quickly on the lips, “I can’t believe you’re here.”
Her statement about Lane confused me, but I didn’t have time to think about it as we were now being physically ushered from the building by Rigel. We followed the woman’s lead as she brought us around the side of the building. There we discovered the long-shuttle she had been referring to. It apparently belonged to the same building we just left because it had the name of the building painted across the front of it.
“Everybody inside,” she hollered, opening the side hatch, “I wasted fifty years already and I don’t feel like wasting anymore.”
We all followed her command and hurried into the shuttle. The craft was a long and thin affair that offered seating for ten. This was accomplished with padded benches on each wall so that the passengers would be facing each other across a three-foot walkway. We quickly located places to sit while the woman closed the hatch. She then insisted that Brian join her in the front along with his tablet.
“Who is she and why is she helping us?” I asked again.
“I already told you,” Henley said, buckling her safety harness, “That’s Lane’s sister Darla.”
“But Lane is around forty-something and that lady is at least in her seventies,” I argued, “She could be his mom or his grandma.”
“She’s seventy-eight,” Henley said, “As far as she’s concerned, she hasn’t seen her older brother in fifty years. And just like everyone else on Earth, she was informed that he and everyone else in Valhalla was dead. And as far as Lane is concerned, it hasn’t even been twenty years since he’d last seen her since he slept most of that time in a Delayed Aging Chamber coming to KMA.”
“
Unreal! This is crazy,” I said, “So is she taking us back to our hopper, or is she taking us back to Valhalla?”
“Valhalla,” my father inserted, “The police are already looking for the owners of the hopper Henley brought.”
I turned to Henley and touched that puffy red handprint on her cheek, “I’m so sorry I couldn’t rescue you quicker. I can’t even imagine what it must have been like.”
My heart sunk at the thought of someone hitting her. It sunk even further at the thought of her crying out in pain and feeling helpless. The pain inside my chest was nearly unbearable even though it was over now.
“I don’t think I like big cities, Thatch,” she said, turning to me, “It looked like a fun place, but people here think differently than we do at home. They have different ideas about what they can do to other people.”
“Please tell me that nothing more happened to you than that,” Rigel said, pointing to her face, “Please tell me you were able to get away.”
“Most of the pain he inflicted is just here,” she replied, tapping her forehead, “He took away all the images I’d saved and fantasized about. He stole that perfect city. He stole those perfect buildings.”
“He broke your tablet?” I asked.
“No, he broke what I saw in those images,” she replied, then leaned her head on my shoulder.
Henley Knight
Chapter Twenty-One
I tried to use Thatcher’s protective arm to shield me from everyone there in the shuttle. I wanted to draw myself into a ball and hide from everyone that I’d let down tonight. Although I had also let Thatcher down, I knew him well enough to know that he’d forgive me by morning. So it was there, tucked up against him inside the shuttle, that I found solace and safety.
I could see my dad watching me and I couldn’t read his expression. He didn’t seem angry at all. It was more like if he feared that I’d somehow disappear if he looked away. I hoped just then that I hadn’t lost his trust or damaged our relationship in such a way that it couldn’t be repaired.
My irresponsible actions had cost our village two hoppers today, assuming that the one parked at Brian’s house was unable to be retrieved. I’d overheard them discussing it and it sounded like they had already formulated a plan for Zane to return with Brian in order to retrieve that hopper. So now it seemed that I might be risking the safety of Thatcher’s father for a second time.
“We’re going to be there someday,” Thatcher whispered to me.
“New Sumter?” I asked, “I’m not quite sure I want to go back.”
“No, I mean our people… our grandchildren or our grandchildren’s grandchildren. Our village will naturally grow over the years. Before long, we will be a nation of thousands. We’ll need larger buildings, more roads, more food, and eventually there would be a need for money. And with a tangible form of trade that doesn’t spoil such as money, this would give room for greed. See, it’s hard to be greedy when you live in a society that bases their trade around food and communal services. If we hoarded our grapes, they would eventually rot. As it is, we have more wine and raisins than our people could ever consume. If we hoarded eggs, they would rot. If we hoarded corn, we’d have to try to find other uses for the abundance such as we already have. As it is, we have more corn oil than our village would use in a year,” he said, “The time would come, maybe in a hundred years, when we’d need to make a dollar that represented a certain amount of wheat or grapes.”
“The wine… it’s still in the hopper at my house,” Brian inserted.
I hadn’t realized that he was standing in the doorway to the cockpit and had overheard me and Thatcher talking.
“You have an abundance that you can’t use. Yet, I’m certain you would have need of other things such as medical or dental supplies. You said that there was a pregnant woman. She may need medication or prenatal vitamins,” Brian said, “Perhaps even some nanos afterward to help her recover.”
“What are you getting at?” my father asked him.
“I spent my life in trade. While the locals exchange money for services, my occupation was exchanging commodities for commodities. The people in New Sumter consume a lot of wine and they are limited in their choices. I could offer them a new brand of wine, the wine you make here, in exchange for either money or commodities that you need,” he replied, “If your needs are small and you have no desire for money, I could take your shopping list and buy what you need and bring it here. If you have too much corn oil and raisins, I can see about trading those as well.”
“Interesting,” Zane said, “But how would you personally survive such a lifestyle? You would need to make money to continue supporting you and your wife.”
“You are a small village that produces a lot of wine. I believe that if you started trading this, you would begin receiving an abundance of income. I would just require a modest payment - nothing more than I made as a cargo handler. Besides, it would give me a safer lifestyle and allow me to keep my promise not to go to sea ever again. I’d also get to be home more, and I’d get to bless the people of Valhalla at the same time,” he said.
“I think we should honestly discuss this when we get back,” my father said, “I know for certain that we are in need of many basic medications and medical supplies. We also need two new freezers and at least one clothing dryer.”
“Well, the shadow period starts tomorrow around midday, so we should plan on me returning to New Sumter within the next five days. That would offer us a better opportunity to get the other hopper back here safely,” he said.
Chapter Twenty-Two
I discovered quickly that I’d disrupted the whole village. When we returned with still a couple hours until the attached duo of Tau Ceti and Kepler would rise, we discovered that everyone had been awake and waiting for us. They flocked to the shuttle from the community center where they had been waiting.
While it was nice to receive all their love and attention, I felt disastrously awful about the trouble I’d caused. I didn’t deserve a single one of the hugs I’d received. Thankfully the attention was soon directed to Darla as she met up with Lane.
He didn’t recognize her of course, but she immediately recognized him. His reluctance to believe that it was her was soon quashed when she started relaying stories of their lives that only his younger sister would have known. It was only a matter of time before both were in tears and hugging like long lost friends. To her, he might as well have been resurrected from the dead considering what she was led to believe all these years.
I wished I hadn’t seen Brian being led away by Doctor Tina. I had noticed he was looking quite tired and shaky in the shuttle. As the two continued toward the hospital, it appeared that he was leaning heavily on her. No one else seemed to notice their quiet escape.
Thankfully, it was my mother who finally tore into me like I so badly deserved. She went on and on about the dangers of the world, then sidetracked over to a tangent on selfishness, then returned again to how dangerous it was for a young girl in the world, and then finally brought it home in a tear-filled hug. No one asked for details about the handprint that I bore and I was glad for that. I’d rather no one knew just how close I came to losing my life or my virginity to a heartless beast.
Thatcher Stark
Chapter Twenty-Three
The flames of the bonfire rose up almost as tall as me. I loved the way it seemed to light up the whole beach. This was the third day of the shadow period, a time when Kepler 963a eclipsed Tau Ceti every month, and Henley and I decided to spend the day at the beach. Although it was high noon, it was as dark as midnight and cold enough for us to need our down-filled jackets. The fire chased away a lot of the chill, but not enough for us to strip down into our swimsuits like we’d have been doing just a few days prior.
We had the hopper back, which was currently parked several yards away. Brian and my dad returned to New Sumter with several more cases of wine to add to the stash he still had from that first delivery. Brian vowed to retur
n in a few days with a new freezer and all the medical supplies on our grocery list as long as he was able to sell the wine. He would also check the pricing on clothing dryers.
“Do you think you’ll ever want to visit New Sumter?” I asked Henley.
We were lying together on a towel next to the fire. The light of the fire danced beautifully off her cheekbones and her lips. Her eyes glowed with the reflection of the fire. I just lay there facing her with my head propped on my hand.
“I could see the draw in visiting such a place, but I’d only go if I had you there with me,” she said, “It’s definitely not a place that a young woman should visit by herself.”
“Maybe we’ll go there when we get older. Maybe when we’re as old as Darla,” I laughed, “Speaking of her, why didn’t Darla stay here with us?”
“Darla’s a rich old woman who has grown accustomed to a certain standard of living,” Henley said, “While she was happy to visit and see that her brother was alive and well, we couldn’t have provided her with the ritzy glamour that she now held so dear.”
“I wonder how his sister came to be so wealthy,” I pondered.
“You don’t want to know, Thatch,” she said, tapping me on the nose, “But I’d rather have the sort of wealth that I have here. I’ve got two parents who love me. I’ve got a community that cares about me. And I’ve got the one man in the whole world who loves me more than anything else.”
“The only lights that I like to see on the beach are the lights of a bonfire reflecting off your eyes,” I said, leaning in to kiss her, “I’m just not a fan of big city beaches.”
“No, there’s just something lacking over there,” she said, rolling onto her back and drawing me overtop her.
BOOK FIVE
Fossil
Thatcher Stark
Chapter One
Eight months…
It sounded like such a short period of time when expressed verbally. It would probably sound like a longer period of time if we expressed it in days.
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