Gaia Dreams (Gaiaverse Book 1) (18 page)

"Well, it's set," Jessica said, interrupting his
train of thought. "They want me to get them on a flight by tomorrow. John, I am
so-o-o relieved!"

He smiled back at her broad grin and decided to
put away the worries in his head for now. "What about your brother?" he asked.

A concerned look wiped away Jessica's smile as
she said, "Mom says he's out of touch. You know, with his job how he can be out
of reach for weeks at a time. I guess when Mom and Dad get here, and we tell
them what is really going on, then maybe we can figure out how to reach him."

"Yeah," John replied, "although, if your brother
is anything like my sister, it will be hard to convince him to drop
everything just to visit his niece. If Rachel hadn't been feeling so burned out
on her job at the ad agency and been due some time off, I doubt we would see
her anytime soon."

Jessica walked across the blue-tiled kitchen
floor and gave John a hug. "We've done what we can for now," she said. "Are you
through with spoiling your appetite for dinner? If you are, put away that bowl
and let's get back to those lists. Mrs. Philpott--and her cat--will read us the
riot act if we aren't more organized by the time they arrive."

John muttered to himself, "Yep, the world is
definitely changing if I'm feeling intimidated by a cat and an old lady." Then
he quickly put away his snack and headed for the den and his clipboard full of
lists. It wouldn't do to be unprepared for the next strategy meeting.

Sonoran Desert, Arizona

Margaret sat on the hard, dusty ground, arms
around knees pulled up to her chest, and tilted her head back to look up at the
stars. She had walked outside after watching the TV reports inside Irene's
small house. The announcers kept interviewing so-called weather specialists,
trying to understand what was happening on the Gulf Coast, but no one
understood it. The storm wasn't over and already the government was making
noises about declaring the coast a disaster area. They talked about mobilizing
forces to go in and perform search and rescue and then rebuild the area. A
short laugh that quickly turned into a sob emanated from Margaret. She talked
to the stars. "They just don't get it yet...of course, why would they? They
think it's just a regular storm, only larger than one they've seen before. It
fills the space on the map where the Gulf of Mexico is and they don't know yet
that it is just going to sit there, moving in occasionally, slowly, but
basically...basically it will just sit there spinning, beating the hell out of
the Gulf Coast, until...until there's nothing left to rescue, no
one
left, nothing to rebuild."

She sat there, tears streaming down her face
while remembering pictures she'd seen once of the aftermath of a hurricane.
Houses swept out to sea left only the foundations, concrete slabs all in a row
along beach front property. A pier stretching out into the water, its concrete
pylons sheared off simply by the force of wind and water. Sitting up straighter
as a thought occurred to her, she said aloud, "I wonder how Houston is
doing...all those tall buildings, the oil refineries, manufacturing, all of it
perched right there on the coast of Texas...." Margaret hated Houston, having
spent one horrid summer there with stifling heat and humidity that drained any
bit of energy from the body. Still, she thought, I don't think I'd wish this
event on anyone, even the city of Houston. We should never have built a city
there, never. Who did we think we were...?

Air Force Base housing, Fort Walton Beach,
Florida

Odetta Parker blinked in surprise as a greenish
light flashed out from the top of the utility pole across the street from her
house. Electrical surges? She wondered, wishing she knew more about science,
more about hurricanes, more about where her children were and if they were
safe. The eerie glow outside illuminated sheets of rain pouring sideways,
instead of down, due to the high winds. Tree limbs and debris flew past her
living room window, and Odetta threw a heavy blanket over the curtain rod to
cover the glass, hoping nothing soared through. As she lifted a corner of the
blanket to peer out, she saw a pine tree next door snap off halfway down the
trunk and go sailing down the street, an airborne wooden missile. Darkness
descended once again as the light from the transformer surge faded. Odetta held
the flashlight close to her chest, breathing hard and trying not scream, as she
moved away from the window to the hall, which branched off the living room. The
sound was deafening. She was shocked to discover how loud wind could be. It
seemed alive, moaning low and then high-pitched wailing. The sound never
stopped, never eased up; the only change was in tone, not in volume. Odetta
finally did scream as a tree smashed through her front window. Then she
shrieked again, startled because she couldn't hear her screams. The cacophony
of the wind created a vacuum into which her voice vanished. The house shook as
wind buffeted concrete block walls. Odetta heard a new sound, on top of the
banshee wind, a ripping sound. She looked up as fingers of the raging wind
gripped the roof and threw it into the aerial cauldron of debris churning over
Odetta's head. She ran, stumbling into a back bedroom, and hid under the bed.

Cape Fair, The Samuels' House

"We have to find out who else in town is having
the same kinds of dreams. If we can recruit more people, we will be better
prepared," Mrs. Philpott was saying.

Samantha sat on the braided rug, using Harry as
a chair back. She loved the feeling of leaning against her warm, furry friend.
He seemed so strong, but just to test that, she pushed gently back with her
body and heard Harry growl softly as he didn't budge an inch. Sam giggled.

Jessica turned an exasperated eye toward her
daughter. "Sam, if you aren't interested in this, you can go watch a video.
Otherwise, you and Harry need to be quiet and listen," she said. Samantha
returned the look with wide-open, innocent brown eyes, while Harry's face
looked so injured that Jessica burst out laughing. "Okay, okay! But you guys
need to settle down."

"Anyway," Mrs. Philpott continued, "I was
thinking we could put an ad in the paper asking for anyone with strange dreams
to contact us. I know it sounds bizarre, but the people who are having the
dreams would know what it meant."

"Yeah," said John doubtfully, "the trouble is
that we would also hear from every kook in a thirty mile radius. Plus, the
people having the dreams might not know what the dreams mean."

"Well, what are we going to do then, John?" asked
Mrs. Philpott, frustrated. "You just got finished saying we really need to get
our hands on a cattle farm, a doctor, and other people who know about farming.
We don't have a lot of time and we need to find those who will be sympathetic
to our story."

Sam watched the adults' worried faces around her
while twirling a strand of blond hair with her left hand. Grown-ups, she
decided, were just too dumb sometimes. She glanced over at Perceval, who was
sitting on the rug next to his computer. He stared at her and nodded slowly.

"Um, Mom, you guys, there is another way," she
said tentatively, sitting up straight.

"Another way for what, honey?" said Jessica in a
distracted manner. "Did you want to go watch a video?"

"No, Mom," said Sam in a stronger voice. "I've
been listening like you told me to. There is a way to find out who the dreaming
people are. And Perce thinks it's a good idea, too, don't you, Perce?"

The three adults watched, astonished, as
Perceval nodded his head, and then three sets of adult eyes fastened intently
on the little girl. "Sam," John began softly, "what exactly is going on here?"

Sam interrupted, stating matter-of-factly, "Oh,
you guys know we talk to each other. What I'm trying to tell you is that Percy
and Harry...hey, and even me, we can find the people. So stop worrying so much."

Mrs. Philpott said intently, "How Sam? How can
you find them?"

"Wel-l-l," Sam drawled, "we can just look at
them and then we'll know. And Harry and Perceval can talk to people's animals
and know too. You know, just look at them."

"
Look
at them? Samantha, what are you
talking about?" demanded Jessica.

Sam appeared startled for a moment, and then
said, "You just look at them like I'm looking at you right now. If I really,
really look hard at you, like this..." and she stared directly at her mother
for a moment, peering into Jessica's blue eyes, which were beginning to look
frightened. "There, see," continued the little girl, "that was it. And now I
can tell that you don't have the dreams. It's really easy, Mom."

Silence reigned as the adults glanced from Sam
to each other, opening their mouths to speak a few times, but not saying
anything. Sam waited, and then said, "Well, aren't you happy? Now you know how
to find the dream people."

Nobody said anything. Sam sighed loudly and
stood up. "Grown-ups!" she said to Harry, "Come on, boy, let's go watch a
movie," and began to walk out of the room.

John called out, "Samantha--wait--" and she
turned to face him. "Can you
look
at me and tell if I have the dreams?"

Sam paused, puzzled by the reactions to her
idea. It's simple, she thought, and they all look at me like I'm weird or
something. She looked at Perceval and knew suddenly that this was something
they were scared of because they couldn't do it. Yet. But she didn't have to be
scared. Perce said so. He said she was smart to think of it.

"Okay, Daddy," she said, and then stared into
his eyes. She liked the flecks of gold in the brown part of his eyes. After a
moment, she broke her gaze and said in a surprised tone, "Wow, Daddy, you are
having the dreams, but you just don't remember them. It's like that thing you
talk about when you write your stories. A block thing."

John thought, and then said, "A writer's block?"

"Yeah, that's it," Sam replied. "'Cept this is
a...a dreaming block. Yeah, that's what it is. You have the dreams but you don't
remember them. Maybe cause they're scary, huh, Dad?"

"Uh, yeah, Sam, I guess that is why," John
answered, looking stunned.

Mrs. Philpott spoke up. "Samantha, all we have
to do is take you and Harry and Perceval to see people--
look
at
them--and then you will know?"

"Yeah," Sam replied. "But we don't have to be
together. And Harry and Perceval can run around and talk to the other animals
and they can find out about a lot of them that way. Lots of people have cats
and dogs. So you just have to take
me
to people--'cause I think I would
get too tired running around like that all day!"

Mrs. Philpott smiled and said, "That's true, Sam.
Okay, your Mom and Dad and I will figure out the best way for you to meet the
people in town and look at them. Why don't you and Harry go watch that movie
now? Oh, and Sam--that was a great idea."

Samantha's face lit up with a big smile, and
then she skipped from the room with Harry at her side.

Jessica was the first to speak. "All right, I'm
trying to be calm here. But it's damn hard! Are we going on the premise that
Samantha, my daughter, who, by the way, is only six years old--that she is now
telepathic or something?"

Mrs. Philpott took off her wire-rimmed glasses
and rubbed her face vigorously. Taking a deep breath, she said, "I don't know
what to think, Jessica, what to call it, but yes, I think we have to believe
that Sam knows what she's talking about. We know she has been having the dreams
herself. We know she communicates with Harry." She held up a hand to forestall
Jessica's comments. "I know, I know you didn't really believe she was talking to
the dog, but she is. And apparently she talks to Perceval now too. Is that
right?" she asked, turning to the cat.

Perceval nudged the computer screen around so
they could all see what he had been typing there while they talked.

WHAT SHE SAID IS TRUE

DON'T KNOW WHY I DIDN'T THINK OF DOING IT THIS
WAY

THAT KID IS SMART

YES SHE TALKS TO ME AND TO HARRY AND WE TO HER

IT IS AN ABILITY--TELEPATHY IS PROBABLY CLOSEST
TO WHAT IT IS

PEOPLE HAD THE ABILITY LONG AGO--LOST IT

NOW GAIA HELPS THOSE WHO ARE NEEDED TO UNLOCK
ABILITY AGAIN

While they digested his message, Perceval typed
again, using his modified mouse pad.

HOW ABOUT PARTY HERE

LOT OF PEOPLE AT ONE TIME THAT WAY

John thought for a minute and then said, "Maybe
you should take up selling Avon or some door-to-door product, Jessica, where
you could take Sam with you. That could get you into a lot of places."

Jessica said, "Oh, John!" and put her face in
her hands.

Air Force Base Flight line, Fort Walton
Beach, Florida

"I don't know how much longer I can do this,
Captain, sir," said Corporal Barnes.

Captain Coleman looked at the young man's face
and saw beads of sweat pouring off his brow. They were inside the C-130,
commonly known in the military as the Hercules, one of the largest cargo
aircraft ever built. There was only one C-130 on the base presently and Capt.
Coleman and the corporal had run for it, climbing into the huge airplane right
before the strong winds began. Coleman knew that once the storm ended, it was
possible that supplies would be needed, and the cargo plane would come in handy
for transporting goods and personnel. He hadn't believed the lieutenant had
accurately read the radar. He'd been through hurricanes before, and knew that
one popping up out of nowhere was flatly impossible. He did believe what he saw
with his own eyes, however, and the storm that clobbered the base was enough to
worry him. Normally in a storm, the planes, if there was enough warning, were
flown off the base to another location. If that was impossible, they were tied
down and secured. But there had been no time for that. He and the corporal were
taking turns pressing the brakes on the aircraft, trying to hold it in place
and prevent it crashing into a building.