Jacinda cocked her head in thought seeming to ponder a decision. Finally she nodded
and strode toward DeepRoot. She stuck out her hand, waiting for the creeper to take hold of it.
Instead it shied away from her, perhaps uncertain of her intensions. Jacinda grunted angrily and
stepped forward, her hand held out. DeepRoot skipped away from the offered hand and hooted
loudly.
The smaller creeper who had been standing nearby suddenly stepped forward, placing
itself between Jacinda and the large creeper. Jacinda took several steps back, but quickly
regained her courage. Once again, she held out her hand to the creeper, this time to the smaller
one.
It looked back at DeepRoot, who gestured at it. The smaller creeper gently took
Jacinda’s hand, filling the girl’s head with racing images. She knew instantly that this creeper’s
name was ClearSky. She saw images of groups of smaller creepers gathered together in a field,
arms raised to the sky, as if they were soaking up the streaming rays of sunlight. Other, larger
creepers moved among them, seeing to their needs. She also saw images of vast forests and
serene oceans. Suddenly the images grew more intense. She saw the same field of small
creepers, but this time a spaceship was raining fire among the field of creepers. The larger
creepers ran among the smaller, trying to save as many as they could from the flames. With a
flash of pain Jacinda realized that the smaller creepers were rooted in place and had to be pulled
up before they could escape. She could feel the anguish of the keepers as the fire forced them to
flee the field, leaving behind many of their charges.
Jacinda began to sob when the creeper broke contact. She fell to her knees, unable to
control her crying. Devon and Merrell rushed to her side, desperate to see if she was okay.
“Oh, Merrell,” she sobbed, “someone attacked their young. So many died.” Merrell
knelt down and cradled her in his big arms.
Devon felt like an intruder in their moment of grief. He stood up and approached
DeepRoot.
“DeepRoot, what is going on? Who did this.” DeepRoot did not respond, merely cocked
his head at Devon. Perhaps he could not understand the question. Did the creepers want their
help? Could that be what they were trying to tell them? Devon tried several more times to make
himself understood, but failed each time. Finally he decided to take a break. He slipped off his
backpack, looking for a place to rest for a moment. He found a soft spot in the grass and sat
down, rummaging through his pack for a waterpouch. It was too bad that all he had was water.
He could use a nice bit of juice. That would be nice. Sammy always had plenty on hand.
Devon jumped up in shock. He realized that Sammy was not here. He had not seen him
since they started looking for Flim. He had completely forgotten about Sammy.
“Sammy,” he blurted before regaining his self control.
Devon only had a moment to think about his missing luggage before the sky lit up with a
flash like nothing Devon had ever seen. For a moment he was distracted by a flash of something
pink hidden among the bushes just outside of the clearing, but his attention was soon drawn back
to the sky by more flashes, each a different color. The whole sky glowed, like they were inside
of some sort of giant globe and some unknown giant was shining different color glowsticks at it.
The display continued for quite a while, mesmerizing the children and the creepers. Its
hauntingly beautiful hues danced across the sky from horizon to horizon. The patterns changed
constantly, whirling in complicated swirls and eddies of light.
Chapter 17
Flim pressed himself to the trunk of a tree, trying with everything he had to not move. He
had somehow felt the presence of the creatures before they had revealed themselves near the
crashed ship. Perhaps it was because he was an excellent sneaker, so he knew what to listen for.
Their presence was overwhelming and he thought there must be over a dozen of the things in the
forest surrounding his friends.
Flim felt ashamed that he had not warned them, but by the time he had realized the
creatures were there he only had time to blend in with a nearby tree. His skin had turned a
mottled green, with streaks of brown. When he stopped moving it was impossible for anyone to
tell
him
from the
tree
. He hoped that these creatures did not share his ability to detect other
hidden folk.
These creatures blended into the foliage nearly as well as Flim, but it was more because
of their natural color. It did not seem like they could change color like Flim could. Their soft,
feather-like skin helped them blend in too.
Flim heard Devon talking into his WristVid, but could not quite make out what he said.
Flim wanted so much to warn Devon, but staying hidden might be his only chance to help if it
came down to the worst. Flim watched his friends leave the clearing, shouting his name. He
listened, holding his breath, until he could no longer hear their call. The presence of the
creatures faded too. He knew that he was alone again…or so he thought.
Flim nearly jumped out of his skin when he heard rustling coming from a nearby bush.
He froze, not daring to move a muscle as the bush shook. Relief flooded into him as he saw
Sammy, Devon’s luggage, emerging from the underbrush. Sammy hesitated for a moment at the
edge of the clearing. A slender stalk emerged from some hidden part of Sammy and scanned the
clearing. It swung back and forth several times before stopping, pointed directly at Flim. The
stalk disappeared once again, back into its hidden compartment. Sammy trundled toward Flim,
as if he had called the chest. Sammy stopped, as if waiting for Flim to meet him halfway.
Flim let go of the tree and approached Sammy slowly. He nearly feinted when Sammy
turned on his stubby legs and trundled off in the direction Devon and the others had gone.
“Wait, where are you going?” Flim called after the scuttling luggage. Sammy did not
even slow down. Flim rushed to catch up. Luckily, Sammy’s stubby legs could only carry him
so fast through the soft dirt of the forest floor. Flim was able to catch up without much problem.
As they made their way through the forest Flim caught brief snatches of the far off voices
of his friends calling for him. Each time he heard them it sent a pang of guilt through him. Flim
had never considered himself a
hero
, but he had never seen himself as a
coward
either. But there
was part of him that felt like he was a coward for not helping Devon and the others. He could
not think of what he could have done, but not even trying made him feel like a chicken. His only
hope was to follow his friends and try to rescue them. He hoped that he could, or he might not
ever be able to forgive himself.
Flim and Sammy followed Devon and the others for nearly an hour, careful not to be seen
by the creatures. Sammy trundled along by Flim’s side, his legs beating a soft rhythm on the
forest floor. Flim found the steady sound relaxing. Some of his tension drained away, leaving
behind a feeling of hope that he could do something to free his friends. Sammy stopped
abruptly, disturbing Flim’s thoughts.
Flim stopped as well, peering into the underbrush making sure he had not been seen. He
concentrated for a moment and his skin darkened, turning a deep green to match the nearby
bushes. He crept forward, carefully avoiding anything that might make noise as he passed. He
inched slowly, ever so slowly, forward. As quietly as a mouse he crept through the bushes. He
was rewarded by the sight of several of the creatures standing in a clearing up ahead.
Flim moved even closer, just close enough to catch sight of his friends as well. Flim
froze as two more of the creatures strode into the clearing. One of the creatures, a huge one,
strode toward the creature who had been leading Devon and his friends away. The two clasped
hands. The feeling that something was going to happen filled the air. It was almost like
electricity. The stood, their hands together, for what seemed like forever. Flim considered
trying to move closer several times, but each time he tried he was filled with a strange feeling of
hesitation. Something inside of him was telling him to wait.
Finally, the two creatures dropped their hands. The large creature trumpeted, starting
Flim in his hiding spot. Flim watched in disbelief as all of the creatures except for two left the
clearing. What happened next shocked Flim even more. First Devon and then Jacinda touched
the creatures. Flim stared in horror as Jacinda collapsed, sobbing. Had the creature hurt her?
He held his anger in check. It looked like Merrell and Devon were doing all they could to help
her, and Flim could not very well rescue his friends if he was captured too.
Flim decided that it was time he started planning his rescue. There was no telling when
he would get a better chance. With only two of the creatures nearby, he and his friends had them
outnumbered, but that was sure to change soon enough.
Taking a deep breath, Flim began working his way around the clearing ahead. If he could
get close enough for Devon or one of the others to hear him, perhaps they could be ready when it
was time to escape. He crept closed, looking for a way to approach his friends without being
seen, but it just was not possible.
Flim watched as Devon jumped to his feet and blurted out the name “Sammy”. After that
things happened so quickly Flim lost control of his color changing and began a shade of bright
pink. Fortunately, everyone else was as surprise by the ensuing aerial display that nobody
noticed.
Chapter 18
A squat, bug-like work module sat near a large pool of bubbling lava. Several blackened
metal pipes led from the work module to the pool. A much larger pipe led from the module to a
large lava field. Globs of half liquid lava burped from this tube, leaving a mound of cooling
leftovers from whatever processing was happening inside the module.
The air inside the portable mining rig was hot and oily. The smell of raw hydrocarbons
burned the eyes and filled the nose and mouth with a bitter tang. The man hunched over a
workstation did not seem to notice. In fact, his grimy clothes and blotchy skin made him almost
seem like one more piece of neglected equipment.
“Cappy, we got a definite problem here.” The voice came from the dirty looking fellow
hunched over a battered display console. The console was patchwork of scavenged parts and
homemade doohickeys and it was a wonder that it worked at all. Everything about the room was
worn and poorly maintained. It could only lead to one conclusion: that whoever did take care of
this place did not take much pride in its appearance.
A burly, fearsome-looking man kicked open the door to the room, sending bits of trash
and equipment flying. “What did you say Burgess? You know I don’t like bad news.”
“Sorry, Cappy, I just call em like I see em.” Burgess eyed Cappy, looking concerned, but
not overly so.
“Well…what’s the problem. You got me out of the bathroom for this. It had better be
good.”
Burgess let Cappy stew for a few more moments and then continued. “We got a problem
with the ionization.”
“What problem, we knew it was gonna happen sooner or later. We got our ships shielded
for when we gotta get out.” Cappy was irritated that he had been bothered with something that
they knew was going to happen.
Burgess gave him a sly smile. “Oh, it ain’t the ions that’s got me concerned. It’s
whoever is scanning em.”
“Scanning? What do you mean. Get to the point or I’ll dump you in one of the
smelters.” Cappy was feeling particularly crusty today and didn’t have time for Burgess’ games.
“Scanning, sir. I mean to say that someone on the outside is scanning the atmosphere.”
Burgess’s manners always improved with the mention of bodily harm. “We have guests out in
the black, and they want to know why they can’t get in.”
Cappy cursed. Things just never did go right for him. Cappy Weiss was a survivor, but
just barely. The universe always conspired to throw a wrench into his plans, no matter how
careful he was. Of course that could have something to do with his tendency to cut corners and
his irrational belief that he was the smartest person in the known universe.
Cappy harrumphed loudly, scratched his greasy head and nodded. There was nothing to
be done but wrap up the operation and high-tail it off this rock before he got caught.
