The Mother of All

by Dana S Reiner

  As I waited for it to be delivered, I opened the unlocked safe that was next to the computer. It was filled with a wide range of items. The first thing I grabbed was a picture taken at my parents’ wedding. It had my entire family from both sides in it. I was not born yet, but it sure was a beautiful photograph. Everyone looked so happy. I quickly placed the picture inside my pack.

  I then gathered a few carbon fiber notebooks, tablets, disks, and roughly a dozen small books. The text on each cover of the small books was foreign and I couldn't interpret what they said. I just knew that my father kept them hidden in here for a reason.

  So, I placed them inside my pack so I could get them in the right hands eventually. The last thing I saw inside the safe was a series of envelopes. One read Layka, the second read Abdi, and the other envelopes just had a bunch of photographs inside them.

  I opened the one with my name on it. I wanted to hurry and not keep the creature waiting too long.

  Dear Layka, You’re finally an adult. You have been such a beacon of light to your mother and I, a source of pride for the entire campus. Whatever it is you choose to do in life, do it well. If you're reading this, it is because a chain of events has happened that has led you to this point or perhaps, you’re just sneaking into my lab. The contents inside of this safe contain my life’s work and books that most of the Eastern movement and C.O.C.A. law will find scientifically invalid. If this letter reaches you in time, please gather the books and material and find a safe place to hide them. If you can, please give Abdi the letter I have written to him. Also, if possible, please inform someone in the Alliance of Africa about the frozen storage containers and the cells inside them. C.O.C.A. will destroy them if they find out they are housed here.

  Proceed to take all the DNA samples and cells in the two freezers and get them to the Alliance of Africa. You should be able to place all the samples inside the cooler compartment of a research pack. If you can, try to keep the bags sealed for the time being. They usually have a shelf life of 72 hours inside the storage compartment. Inside one of the notebooks I have placed the phone numbers that belong to most of my colleagues worldwide, please contact them or have Abdi contact them if he can. The most important thing is to keep the items safe, otherwise no record of this will ever exist. I chose to do this because even in times of struggle and hardship we must always do what is right for the greater good of mankind. I have felt that my phone calls and emails have been under the secret eye of C.O.C.A., which is why I have placed much of my research inside the safe of my lab.

  “So, if you do in fact get this message, sweetheart, please see to it that all of this material gets into the right hands. Love always Papa.

  I hugged the letter and placed the rest of the material inside my pack. When I placed the last book inside my pack, the computer made a notification alert. “Failed message,” the screen read.

  I quickly tried to resend the video message when the computer started making a siren noise. A computerized voice repeated the words: “You do not have access! You do not have access!”

  I quickly began to gather my material. I could hear footsteps upstairs. I knew it was a matter of minutes before C.O.C.A. officials found the entry to the hidden lab.

  I immediately ran over to the steel tanks. Grabbing handful after handful of the small frozen vials, I dumped as many as I could into the cooler compartment of my pack. I quickly zipped and harnessed my pack as I ran to the marker board. Prior to entering the tunnel, I grabbed one of the small handheld dart guns, in hopes it would protect me.

  I ran down the tunnel that led to the jungle. A shameful feeling began to overwhelm me. My father's secret lab was designed to be a resource and I here I was, leading C.O.C.A. directly to it. I wondered if anyone would ever know that I am still alive.

  I exited the tunnel. An eerie stillness filled the jungle. I searched for the creature but saw and heard nothing.

  Tracing my previous steps, I scanned the area for any sign of the creature but heard nothing.

  I quietly started walking into the jungle when someone yelled “Freeze!”

  Chapter 27

  Vida Después de la Muerte

  I stopped instantly, contemplating my next move. As I turned to face the person, I quickly realized it was a C.O.C.A. officer.

  “Drop your weapon!” he yelled.

  I dropped the dart gun and put my hands in the air, surrendering.

  This is it, this is how my life ends, I thought to myself.

  Footsteps from the officer could be heard as he walked closer to detain me.

  As I looked into the jungle, I could hear a mild clicking sound, just like the creature made. It wasn’t loud enough for the officer to hear but provided me with an idea of where the creature was.

  The officer inched closer, kicking my dart gun away with his feet. Once the officer was close enough, I performed a judo throw Abdi once showed me.

  The officer went flying over my head, losing control of his weapon. I raced towards the area where the creature’s clicks could be heard. Finally, I noticed its presence.

  We immediately began running as quick as we could into the jungle.

  Bang! Bang!

  Warning shots could be heard from the officer’s gun.

  I began sprinting trying my best to keep up with the creature. It was at least 50 feet ahead of me.

  I knew the C.O.C.A. officer had to be hot on our tail and that he would call for backup and give away the range of our coordinates. If I could just escape him even for a moment, backup shouldn't be able to precisely pinpoint our whereabouts. After all, this was the jungle, the greatest ecosystem of all. I had to find the cave and get to a safe spot.

  As I gripped my pack tightly, I tried to run as awkwardly and quickly as I could without damaging any of the research. I knew that the officer probably possessed extraordinarily shooting skills, so I did not want to make myself an easy target. I stopped for a split second to gather a sense of direction.

  Once I was able to get an accurate idea of where I was, I began racing towards the cave. I could hear the waterfall, providing me with a little relief.

  As I raced toward the waterfall, the wet jungle floor caused me to slip and fall. I could see the officer approaching in the distance.

  BANG!

  A loud roar came from the officer’s direction. He again opened fire, just missing me, I’m sure, or perhaps it was just another warning shot, in hopes that I would surrender.

  I continued to race towards the cave. I could barely breathe. The battery life of the research suit was dead. However, I knew I had to continue. I rushed toward the entrance of the cave, unharnessing my pack with all the research and quickly tossing it inside the cave.

  After entering the cave, I stopped for a second or two to see if I could hear gunshots or talking. There was nothing. I quickly caught my breath and started to make my way toward the crevice, looking for the glowing vine. I couldn’t see anything but the light of glowworms on the roof of the cave. I grabbed the pack, making my way towards the vine. My eyes tried to adjust to the darkness and my heart began to beat out of my chest. As I recalled the whereabouts of the vine, I inched closer, trying to locate it in the darkness.

  Then I was frozen stiff by a frightening voice. “Don’t move a muscle! I don’t want to hurt you and have strict orders not to!”

  It was the C.O.C.A. officer. He shined a small light on me that rested on the top of his rifle.

  I dropped to my knees in defeat. “You killed my family, you murderer! How could you? They were good people!” I cried.

  The officer inched closer to me and showed no remorse. “Just give me the pack and put your arms behind your back,” he said in a deep, strong voice. I obliged in defeat; I didn’t want to live anymore.

  “Shoot me! Shoot me, please!” I continued to cry.

  “I have located the girl! I repeat, I have located the girl.” The officer yelled into his watch. He did not appear to have a signal or any connection with other C
.O.C.A. officials.

  I placed my hands behind my back and the officer made his way towards me. As he laid down his rifle, I could see the light from his watch. In one last effort for survival, I grabbed his wrist and tried a takedown that Abdi had once showed me. I was five feet from the crevice and just needed to get the officer near it, in hopes he would trip and fall to his death. He had no idea it was there.

  Unfortunately, I was extremely weak, and my takedown attempt was unsuccessful. I was quickly controlled by the officer. The officer grabbed my weak arms and took me to the ground.

  “I was going to let you live, girl!” said the officer.

  Suddenly, the officer screamed. His rapid footsteps could be heard moving frantically with each scream. “What the hell is this?” he yelled. He fell to the floor of the cave. “I need backup immediately!” yelled the officer into his watch.

  I wasn’t sure the officer had any signal from inside the cave. The watch began talking to him in a robotic voice, saying. “Your message was unsuccessful. Please check the alert!”

  The creature and the officer grappled on the cave floor for a short amount of time. While they were on the ground, I rushed over to grab the rifle. I made my way towards the creature, when suddenly –

  BANG!

  It was a gunshot, followed by a loud cry that came from the creature.

  “Nooooo!!!!!” I yelled.

  The cave was silent. Even with the background noise, I could hear a pin drop.

  “Are you okay?’ I cried, in hopes of being greeted with a whimpering sound.

  Both the creature and the officer were still. I could see the officer on top of the creature. I made my way toward them both, my heart was extremely heavy. I rolled the bloody body of the officer off the creature. His pistol was still in his hand; however, he did not appear to be alive.

  “Are you okay?” I signed to the creature. I was greeted by a light click, again it was almost identical to a clicking sound by a dolphin or orca. I looked into the large black eyes of the creature, seeing the reflection of glowworms. It was bleeding near its chest. I quickly knelt next to it, trying to comfort it. After a few light whimpers, the creature pointed me to the vine.

  The creature then lifted its hand, placing it over its mouth. It repeated this motion once more, followed by a fist. I knew it was urgent. The creature needed a fruit. I began rushing to the vine, crossing the entire vine without stopping once. I rushed over to where the creature kept the fruit. I was amazed. It had an entire storage of berries, nuts, cocoa leaves, bananas, and other food. However, I only saw a few dozen of the unique fruit

  I unzipped my research suit and placed three of the fruit inside before zipping my suit back up. I then rushed back to the vine.

  “I am coming! Hang in there!” I yelled as I crossed the vine.

  I quickly unzipped the front of my research suit and placed one of the fruits in the palm of the creature’s hand. Although I could tell the creature was weak, it still possessed enough strength to crack the fruit. I then brought the fruit to the creature's mouth. The nutrients immediately provided a little life. The creature then cracked another fruit, this time giving it to me. It was as delightful as I remembered. The nutrients immediately energized me as well. The creature then opened another, gesturing that I needed to eat it.

  Cautious and unsure of what would happen, I did what was asked of me. I began eating the second fruit.

  “Are you going to be okay?” I gestured.

  The creature was still. It then pointed me to the glowworms.

  I urgently plucked some glowworms from the ceiling of the cave and knelt next to the creature. The glow worms attached themselves to the creature’s chest. I then began to feel the hallucination effects of the fruit and to see the sparkling bioluminescence of the worms.

  The creature began to look me in the eye; I was mesmerized by the reflection of the worms. As before, we began to communicate telepathically, a mind reading of sorts. The light from the glowworms fluctuated and began reflecting off the creature’s large black eyes.

  I felt like I was falling into a black hole. The flickering in the creature’s eyes provided me with information. The light from the glowworms flickered in a way that made small images.

  The creature was going to die soon and wouldn’t make it through the night. The creature let out small, whimpering cries before grabbing my head with both of its large hands. It pulled my head to its face, our foreheads touching each other. I began to hear and see the creature’s thoughts. I closed my eyes to focus on what the creature was sharing. Its thoughts began to process in my head.

  I have a secret that I have kept from you because I have only known you for a short time. You are safe in here and should be for quite some time. So, don't be afraid. There is enough food for you to last many moons. I have helped you and now I must ask you to help me. I may never see my family again, which is why you must wait here in case they return, to give them something I have. If you eat four of the fruit and fall asleep in the pool, you can sleep for a long time without dying. The pool will nurture and aid your body. Once a member of my family returns, they will aid in your safety. They will know how to wake you. Just leave at least three fruits, so you can communicate with one of them.

  I nodded my head in understanding.

  My head started to throb in a painless way. The creature then placed its hands on its hairy stomach attempting to nurse its wounds. It then let out a heartfelt cry and removed a ball of black fur from a hidden pouch in its stomach. The creature’s big, dark black eyes began to frighten me as it lay still with its hands full of fur. Again, I could hear and feel its thoughts.

  This is my young.

  I immediately paused in awe. Every neuron in my body was numb, a release of endorphins I have never felt in my life.

  Please look after my young until someone returns and please tell them what has happened.

  I was in disbelief. Clearly this creature possessed some marsupial characteristics for me to not notice it was carrying a baby. I quickly took the young from the creature’s hands as my eyes filled with tears. The baby creature’s lips were bathed in milk that must have been present from a hidden tit inside the pouch of its parent. The creature gestured with its hands that the baby could now eat fruit and chewed nuts in puree form.

  I relished in the beauty of the creature. I thought about its existence and how it had gone so long without being discovered. I wondered if the creature’s family was out there or if it was the last adult of its kind. I felt a tear slowly fall down my face.

  “Please don't leave me alone,” I cried.

  The creature gestured that I was indeed not alone, as it pointed to its young.

  The creature then took its hand and manipulated the glowworms on its chest, again stimulating what bioluminescent matter the glowworms had left. The creature was tired. It then placed its hand on my heart and its other hand on its young. My heart was beating out of my chest.

  “Thank you,” I said as I held the young.

  The creature’s head moved as if it was too heavy for its neck, bouncing around in thought. Its hands then slid off simultaneously, hands and head hitting the floor of the cave.

  The creature lay motionless. I began to cry as I held its young, my head on its still chest.

  I wished none of this had happened. I wanted to try to resuscitate the creature but knew it had lost too much blood.

  I gave the creature one last hug and grabbed my research pack. I removed as much hair off the creature as I could and placed it inside the front of my research suit. I then proceeded to place the creature’s young inside my suit as well. I wanted the young creature to be able to smell the shades of its parent.

  I made my way towards the vine. My heart mourned for the creature and my parents, yet part of my heart was so full when I gazed at the creature’s young.

  My parents would never believe what I had experienced these last few days. I was thankful I had all the samples from my father’s lab
and the books he wanted me to take. And now I was to look after this baby. How long was I supposed to wait here for the creature’s family to return? I was so confused and was overwhelmed with emotion.

  Once I returned to the sparkling bioluminescent hot spring, I filled my stomach with nuts and berries. I fed the baby creature nuts, berries, and juices from the magical fruit, as well. I could feel a vibrating hum from the creature’s young. I began rocking the young, humming songs my mother used to sing.

  Although I knew my parents were dead, a part of them felt present inside the cave. I began speaking out loud as if they were both sitting next to me.

  “Mother, father... I love you and I hope I made you proud. I am sorry for everything,” I said.

  As I held the baby creature, I knelt next to the water. I unzipped the cooler compartment of my research pack and removed the caps from the tubes the DNA samples were in. I began emptying some of the cells into the pool. I could see the membranes of the samples immediately dissolving. I hoped that something beneficial would stem from all the samples I placed inside the warm water.

  I decided to eat some of the fruit and rest until I was awakened. These last few weeks had been exhausting.

  What if I never woke up? What if the creature’s family were to come here, take the baby, and not even wake me? What would happen to my body if I just laid here for hundreds, thousands, or even millions of years? Would my body disintegrate, or would it stay preserved? I wished so dearly that I could have had an opportunity to take a sample of this pool and assess it in my father's lab. Something about it was special; it transformed me. I tried not to overthink the situation, but just had so many questions. Was this the end or simply the beginning? I knew that I had to just believe that everything was going to be okay. This type of logic always troubled me, but for the time being, I had no other choice.

  My heart was aching to the point I couldn't bear it anymore. I caressed the baby creature, sleeping snug in my research suit. The amount of fur I had placed inside my suit had to have provided a comfortable sleeping spot for the baby creature.