Gaia Dreams (Gaiaverse Book 1) (31 page)

Andy looked startled at first, but upon thinking
over what Black was saying, realized he was probably right. "So, what does that
mean for you? For us?" he asked.

"Well," said Black, "whatever is going on, I'd
say it would be good to be somewhere safe from the disasters–but also in a place
where you can live with, get along with, the folks who will be there." He
paused and then said, "And that's what I've been trying to figure out – where
do I go that will be safe for me as a black man. I sure as hell don't want to
wind up in some white supremacist survival group, I'll tell you that much!"

"How can you know that, though?" asked Lisanne.

"That's what I've been trying to figure out.
That's why I've been doing these mind exercises, trying to open up my mind to
help me find out about the safe areas, about the people who will be there,"
said Black. He rubbed his hands over his bald head and sighed. "It's been
frustrating, 'cause I don't have all the answers and I can't figure out how to
get them."

Lisanne started smiling, lavender eyes sparkling
as she announced, "Wait right here, Black. I think I can help you out."

She strode quickly out the door and took off
running for her car. Black turned to Andy with raised eyebrows. Andy just
shrugged his shoulders, saying, "She's got an idea--don't ask me. We only met a
couple days ago and I haven't been able to figure her out yet."

St. Louis, Missouri

Nathan was pushing the large shopping cart
through the wholesale discount center when he stopped dead. Alex, walking just
behind him looking over a shopping list, ran right into him.

"Hey!" she said, irritated. "What's your
problem?"

"Missouri! We're in Missouri, Alex! Do you know
what that means?" Nathan asked excitedly.

"Not really, Nathan. I didn't think it meant
anything in particular–and have you lost your mind? Why are you grinning like a
fool and looking all dopey all of a sudden? Not that it takes much for you to
look dopey I know, but still–"

"Alex," Nathan interrupted, "Missouri is where
my sister lives! It's been ages since I've seen her. You don't think–no, it's
impossible–she couldn't be living in–where are we heading for anyway? You keep
talking about this safe zone, but you never said where it is."

Alex shook her head vigorously, saying, "No. Not
Cape Fair, you're not going to tell me she lives in Cape Fair, are you? You're
not going to tell me you've kept this from me, are you?"

Nathan started laughing somewhat hysterically. "No,
I didn't keep it from you, at least not intentionally. We've kind of had a lot
on our minds the past couple of weeks. And now that you ask me, I'm afraid it
isn't Cape Fair at all. I mean that would just be too much of a coincidence! I
can't believe she actually lives there. I think I saved her address. I can't
believe I've gone so long without writing back to her--well, you know with
email, who writes letters anymore? But even if they aren't in Cape Fair, we
should try and warn them--" He started pulling scraps of paper out of his
wallet. Finally, tucked behind a picture of his niece, he unfolded a small
piece of paper torn from an envelope. And looked up from it with a stunned
expression on his face.

Alex backed away from him. "No! No way! No way
does she live in Cape Fair! That's--that's--"

"Serendipitous?" Nathan asked grinning. "Synchronous?"

Alex punched him in the arm. "We've gotta find a
phone
now
. Come on, you idiot." Beneath the sound of Nathan's laughter,
she grumbled, "He knows someone–someone! A sister! In Cape Fair, and he doesn't
have the brains to remember it! So much for psychic phenomena."

Sonoran Desert, Arizona

As Zack set up his camera equipment and
satellite dish, Maria cuddled Cleo close to her chest, rubbing the soft fur
gently. "How did you get here, cat? How did you survive the quake? And how did
you know to come here? Oh, Cleo! I can't believe you're here," Maria said,
tears in her eyes.

"Is that your cat?" Phoebe asked hesitantly from
the corner of the couch.

"No, it's Mama's cat from L.A." Maria replied.

"But how did it get here?" Phoebe asked, brow
furrowed in puzzlement.

Maria looked up at Margaret who was standing in
the middle of the room. "Well? What about it, Margaret? What's the story here?"

Margaret smiled as she began talking, "Cleo is
one of the good things that has happened in the middle of all this chaos. She
was in contact with the consciousness of the planet. And she was led here.
Where you would be. She lost your parents just as you did, Maria. She needs
you, just like you need her."

Maria frowned as she said, "Yes, I do need her.
But what you've said doesn't explain it, Margaret, not by a long shot."

"Can't you just accept that it happened? Does
everything need an explanation? Isn't a small miracle here and there allowed
these days?"

"Well, sure," Maria said grudgingly, "a miracle
right about now, after all I've seen, I'll take it! But I don't understand
this! I don't understand anything that's going on. You and Zack talk of dreams
that can tell the future, and then you go off about how the planet is awake, or
conscious, or some such nonsense. Are you surprised that I'm having difficulty
just accepting it? My job requires me to get to the facts behind the events
that happen, and what you have to offer doesn't sound factual at all–it sounds
like a lot of new-age weirdness. What I'm getting at here is what is the point
of it all? If something is causing the disasters to happen, then I want to know
how we stop it, how we make the disasters stop.

Margaret sighed. "I'm not sure we can. And that's
the truth. I honestly don't know if we can stop any of it from happening. I'm
not even sure if we can save anyone at all."

Jonesboro, Arkansas

Merlin walked into the camper, followed by
Lisanne carrying the laptop computer. Setting the laptop on a crate, she picked
Merlin up and put him in front of the computer. Merlin glanced interestedly at
the large owl as it fluttered its wings, but turned resolutely to the computer
and typed out his message.

"There," Lisanne said, "if anyone can help you
find a safe place, its Merlin."

Black's mouth fell open as he watched the cat
and then a deep chuckle rose from his chest. "Now I have really seen it all.
You folks can't seriously be saying a cat--"

He shut his mouth abruptly as White, the owl,
pecked him gently on the cheek.

Andy made the introductions. "Merlin, meet Black--the
man, and White--the owl. Black and White, meet Merlin--our leader."

The humans then looked at each other and burst
out laughing. Lisanne realized she'd never heard quite such joyous laughter
before, joy at something new and wonderful entering all their lives.

"Yep," she said, barely getting the words out
before choking up with giggles. "He's a cool cat, all right."

Andy groaned and Merlin growled. Black leaned
forward to read the computer screen.

WHY NOT COME WITH US MR BLACK

"Just Black is fine--" he began, then stopped and
said, "This is going to take some getting used to."

CAPE FAIR SAFE FOR YOU

SAFE FOR THAT BIRD TOO I GUESS

"Hmm, I can see that some of the animal
relationships are going to have to change with all that's happening," Andy
said. "But he gets along with Waldo, my dog, surprisingly well, so I guess a
cat can get along with a bird too."

Black said, "He'd better get along with my owl!
It's not like he's a parakeet. White is bigger than that cat–probably make a
meal of him."

"Okay, okay, we can figure out cross-species
dynamics later," Lisanne said. "So will you come to Cape Fair, Missouri, with
us, Black? If Merlin says it'll be safe for you, then you can believe it.
Somehow, and I don't pretend to understand how, Merlin is in touch with someone
there, maybe another animal, who seems to know a lot about how things are in
Cape Fair."

Black thought for a second then peered directly
into the snowy white owl's eyes. Slowly he nodded his head, and then said, "All
right, Cape Fair it is. If they're taking in people to keep them safe, then
they probably need my experience with arms anyway. But I have things to pack up
first. I guess if that flood is coming soon we'd better all get a move on. You
folks don't have to bother packing up these guns since I'll be bringing them.
But you should probably take a shotgun or two for your own protection."

Lisanne said, "You're right. That makes sense
and leaves us more room in the car for supplies."

Merlin started typing again.

WE NEED TO GO NOW

DORENA-HICKMAN FERRY

JANINE NEEDS OUR HELP WITH THE HORSES

"Horses?" said all three humans at once.

Cape Fair, the Samuels' House

Sitting under the oak tree and watching the
patterns the sun and shadows threw out onto the grass, Sam was happy. She had a
new friend with a beautiful puppy. "So, how long have you been with her?"
Samantha asked, petting the puppy's soft fur.

"I guess a couple weeks," Max replied as he sat
cross-legged on the lawn. "She wandered into the place I was staying. I don't
know what happened to her mother or her owners. I guess we aren't owners of
pets anymore."

"Of course we aren't, silly! You can't own a
dog!" declared Sam. Max grinned at her tone of voice. She was such a strange
little girl. Nice, but kind of strange.

"She has a pretty name, too, just like she is a
pretty color," Sam said.

"Well, she has red hair, so it makes sense her
name is Ruby," Max replied.

"Dorothy had ruby shoes in Oz."

"Oz? Oh
The Wizard of Oz
. I saw that once
on TV."

"So you talked to her some, today?" Sam asked.

"She's still just a puppy and doesn't know lots
about the world yet, so it's a little hard," Max said. "I never knew this could
happen."

"Well, I think everybody could talk to their
dogs if they just thought about it."

"I don't know, Sam," Max said. "It's not a
normal thing to do."

Samantha frowned at him. "Sure it is. If I can
do it and you can do it, and a bunch of people can do it, and it's fun to do,
then it has to be normal. And it is fun, you know it is."

"Yeah, but what about the dreams, Sam? Those
aren't any fun at all. I hate the dreams!" he said fiercely.

Sam walked over to him and hugged him. Max held
onto her tightly, this little strange girl.

"Maybe it will get better, Max," she said
softly. "Maybe."

"Yeah," he replied sighing, "maybe."

Inside the house, Mrs. Philpott and Jessica sat
silently, listening as the conversation floated into the room through the open
windows.

Quietly, Mrs. Philpott said, "I'm not sure where
would be the best place for him to live. I took him home with me the other
night, but I think he has more of a connection to Samantha, maybe because she's
younger and perhaps because she has Harry."

"Well," Jessica said, "we have plenty of room
here. When we bought a house this big, we figured we'd either have more
children or we'd find uses for all these extra rooms, so I don't see why he
shouldn't stay here with us. If you really think he'd do better here. He seems
like a nice enough kid–just a little lost and confused."

Mrs. Philpott chuckled. "I think we're all a
little lost and confused right now. But, yes, he is, more than most. I don't
know why he was on his own, what happened to his parents, what he might have
gone through. I guess that's why I hesitated at suggesting it–I don't know his
background!"

Jessica thought it over. From what she could
tell, they'd soon be dealing with a lot of strangers and they wouldn't know
much about anyone. Possibly, no, more like probably, there would be people who
showed up who might not be okay, who might be made crazier by everything that
was happening. Or maybe some not so nice people would show up. She'd hated
having the talk with John about the need for weapons for protection, but she
also knew they had to be careful. But how would they deal with it if someone
came who was a criminal of some type? She wanted Samantha to be safe. But in
the crazy world they lived in now, she wondered how safe any of them would be,
or for how long.

"Look, I think we should ask him if he wants to
stay with us," Jessica said slowly, "but I also think we need to have a meeting--you,
me, John and Perceval--to decide how we are going to deal with the new people
Sam says are coming. We have to know how to protect ourselves from the crazies,
have a plan in place before they start arriving, in case of trouble."

"I agree, dear," Mrs. Philpott replied. "I've
asked Harmony to go shopping at the mall tomorrow, but why don't we have her
take Max and Sam with her and tell them all to go see a movie. No telling how
much longer they'll be able to go watch a movie, and I think they all deserve
some fun. Then we can meet."

Jessica got up and stood at the screen door,
watching Sam and Max roll around on the grass playing with Ruby and Harry.
Shrieks of laughter reached her ears. Smiling, she walked outside and called out,
"Hey Max! How would you and Ruby like to live here with us? That way Ruby would
have someone to play with." And, she thought, you would have someone to talk to
who understands what you're going through--Sam.

He asked fearfully, "I didn't do anything wrong
at Mrs. Philpott's, did I?"

Jessica wondered what caused that reaction. Why
was he looking so scared? Something hard to deal with in his most recent
history, she guessed. She smiled reassuringly at him. "Oh, no, nothing like
that. We just thought you and Sam might like to be near each other with your
dogs."

Sam grabbed Max's hand and began pulling him
toward the path to Mrs. Philpott's house. "Come on, slowpoke! We gotta go get
your stuff. You get to move in here! Woohoo!"