Gaia Dreams (Gaiaverse Book 1) (34 page)

"Oh, yes, well, er, yes, it is--or not, not
really. Just the news, you know, probably not as important as I make it out to
be, er, nice to meet you both." Mrs. Philpott faltered to a stop.

John took a deep breath, and motioned everyone
to the front door. "Let's get inside and get you all settled and then we can
sit down and watch this tape. I'm sure Gracie and Rachel will be interested in
it too."

"Gracie and Rachel are here as well? What's
going on, John?" Abby asked.

He sighed. "Important things, world-shaking
events, changes you won't even believe. Other than that, just a little family
reunion." And he refused to answer any more questions.

Dorena's Landing, Missouri

Merlin sat on top of the Mustang--the car, not
the horse--and watched as Waldo ran happily around groups of horses as they
munched on what grass they could find. That dog! Acting like a puppy all
slobbering and rambunctious over a bunch of horses. The things a cat has to put
up with these days, he thought sullenly. Just because they're big, horses think
they can do what they want. Hmphf! He narrowed his eyes and hissed as a young
Appaloosa colt scampered near the car.
Better watch it, you dumb horse!
Lisanne will kill you if you mess with her car.

The colt slid to a stop before bumping the car
and looked questioningly at the cat.

Oh, so you can hear me? Well, well, well...this
has possibilities!

"Merlin," Lisanne yelled to him. "Be nice to the
horses!"

Yeah, be nice to the horses. I'd be more than
happy to be nice to the horses if there weren't so goddanged many of them, he
thought. He turned away from the colt to watch Janine as she stood in front of
a rearing bay-colored stallion. You have to give the kid credit, she shows no
fear. Yes, that stallion was the one that got skittish on the way over the
river on the last trip across. From the sound of it, even the ferry captain got
a little skittish on that ride.

"That's right. You'd better pay me extra, little
lady, 'cause we nearly had an accident that last time. Didn't I tell you the
currents were acting funny? But no, you just had to have your way. And you're
lucky I don't call the cops right now to arrest you with your big fancy pistol
there."

"Come on, Cap'n Joe, you know I'd never have
shot you. You just needed to get your courage up to go across one last time. We're
friends, right?" Lisanne said as she put her arm through the ferry captain's. "Now
you can see what a good deed you did here. These horses have somewhere to go
and that river out there is going to get even weirder tonight and tomorrow. And
then you'd better look out because there's going to be one mother of a flood."

"A flood? It ain't been raining or nothing, and
the spring thaw wasn't so much this year. There won't be a flood."

"And I'm telling you there will be. You oughta
listen to me, Cap'n Joe. In fact, you should come with us because it's going to
get dangerous around here."

"Just where are you all headed?"

"Cape Fair."

"They got a big river in Cape Fair?"

"Well, uh, I don't know. I think they have
water, a lake or something, but I honestly don't know."

"If they don't have a big honkin' river like
this here Mississippi, I ain't going nowhere. Besides, you're a landlubber. You
don't know squat about the river and when it floods."

"Look, you idiot. You're the one who said the
currents were acting funny. I'm just trying to save your life and this is the
thanks I get?" Lisanne started to stalk away angrily, but then turned back. "Just
remember, if you can make it, we'll be in Cape Fair. I'm sure there'll be lots
to do there besides working on a ferry. Take care of yourself."

Captain Joe shook his head and went back to
securing the ferry for the night. What a crazy couple of hours this had been!
These people with all their horses--crazy!

Cape Fair, the Samuels' House

Samantha snuggled into Grandma Abby's lap
watching a lady named Margaret on the TV. She'd only gotten a small sense of
Margaret for the first time today. She looked like a desert princess, Sam
thought. She yawned. The spaghetti and garlic bread, and ice cream for dessert, had filled up her tummy and now she just felt like going to sleep, but she knew
there were going to be lots of questions tonight. All her grandparents were
watching the news report about the dreams, but she could tell they thought it
was some kind of a joke. Her mom and dad, on the other hand, and Mrs. Philpott,
just looked grim. Yeah, they were thinking about the coming flood, all those
dead people. Sam sighed.

"Are you okay, Sam?" Grandma Abby asked. Before
she could reply, Abby said to Jessica, "I don't know if we should be letting
her watch this. It might give her bad dreams."

John, Jessica and Mrs. Philpott all looked
stunned for a minute; then seemingly against their will, they all started to
giggle. John said, "Give her bad dreams? Bad dreams? You don't know--" and then
he broke up laughing.

"John, really," Abby replied. "She's just a
child and we have to protect children from scary things. I'm surprised at you."
She looked at the three laughing adults. "What in the world is going on with
all of you? I'm serious!"

As Jessica wiped tears from her eyes, her
laughter faded and her expression was one of resignation. "Sorry, Mom. We know
you're serious. You just don't know what has been going on here. Samantha
already has bad dreams. Bad dreams is an understatement of what she has. She
has the dreams, the ones that Margaret person was talking about on TV just now.
Sam has already dreamed about the flood of the Mississippi. So when you said it
might give her bad dreams, well, it was just so weird in a funny way...."

Gracie spoke up. "Samantha has those dreams?
What does this mean? I thought that news report was some kind of joke. Are you
saying its true?"

"Of course it's not true, Mother!" interjected
Rachel. "People can't have dreams of the future, psychic dreams. That's all
just nonsense."

"Oh, dear," murmured Mrs. Philpott.

Harry had come to sit next to Samantha and now
stood with her as she got to her feet and walked to the center of the room. "It's
all true, Aunt Rachel. I promise you it is. The dreams are the bad part. They
are really, really bad. But there's good stuff too. Like talking to Harry and
Perceval." They'd all been introduced to Perceval earlier, a bit surprised at
the introduction and that Harry and the cat seemed to get along so well.

"Talking to animals? Oh, my God, Jessica, what
has been going on here? What have you done to my granddaughter?" cried Abby.

"Mom--" Jessica began. Then Mrs. Philpott cleared
her throat and said, "I think it's time for everyone to settle down and sit
back and just listen for a while. I'll try to explain." And moving a laptop
computer to the floor next to Perceval, she began to lecture to some bewildered
relatives. "It all started about two to three weeks ago, before the L.A. quake...."

Somewhere between St. Louis and Cape Fair,
Missouri

Nathan heard the two-way radio start squawking,
and Alex's voice came over the speaker. "Big Nate, come in, Big Nate, this is
Yo Mama, over."

He groaned. Every few miles Alex wanted to talk.
They'd decided to get the two-way radios since they were each driving a U-Haul
truck. Alex was completely enamored with them. Her 'handle' was actually Yo-Yo
Mama, since she was a huge fan of the cello player, but every time she said it,
she cracked up laughing, hence the Yo Mama currently in play.

"What is it, Alex, over."

"You're supposed to call me Yo Mama, Big Nate--but
I'll forgive you this once. Let's stop for food in the next town. I'm starving.
Over."

"I told you my sister will have food, if she's
home. It's only a couple more hours, can't you wait?"

"You forgot to say over, Big Nate. No, I can't
wait and besides--" She paused, and then resumed sheepishly. "It's just that I
want fast food. I mean it may be the last fast food on earth! Ever think of
that? I want Taco Bell and a Big Mac and fries from Mickey D's. I want a giant
coke. And a fried apple pie. Fast food, Big Nate. Come on, you know you want
it! Over."

Nathan wondered if she was right. Was it the end
of fast food? The end of the American society he'd grown up in? During their
shopping trip, they'd stopped and watched the news at an appliance store. The
report of the dreams had astonished him, even with his and Alex's experiences.
The way the report ended so abruptly made him think that the network had yanked
it off the air at the end. But word had gotten out. Within an hour of the
telecast, he and Alex had noticed a sharp increase in the stores of people
buying supplies. And the roads were insane with traffic. They were on back
roads now, which were a little better.

He understood Alex's need for fast food. Of
course, in Africa they'd had no access to any, and in the course of shopping,
they both had come up with so many things they wanted to buy. Useful items,
luxury items. Things that might disappear from life if society broke down all
at once. As it looked like it might do. Take the two-way radios. They were
definitely a useful item. But they ran on batteries. What happens when the
batteries are dead and nobody is manufacturing them? They'd bought rechargeable
batteries, but still, at some point they'd wear out. What then? And they needed
electricity to recharge. How were they going to keep the electricity on in Cape
Fair? Nathan sincerely hoped someone there had already figured out the
electricity problem. Because so much more was possible in terms of survival if
they had electricity. Without it--without it, he thought grimly, they'd be back
a hundred maybe even two hundred years in technology. Not good. But that
assumed they would all be alive to use the technology. He had his doubts about
that.

"Hey, good buddy, you doze off or something? I
want fast food! Over."

"Right, Yo Mama, let's go into this next town,
Conway. I just saw a sign for Mickey D's there. Your wish can be granted. Over."

He heard excited laughter over the radio. Yes to
fast food, yes to technology and lights and hot showers. How the hell would
they hang on to all of it? Any of it?

Cape Fair, the Samuels' House

Sam looked around the room. Aunt Rachel was
white as a sheet; her hair all messed up from running her shaking fingers
through it over and over. Daddy was sitting next to her, trying to talk to her,
but it looked like Aunt Rachel was in shock or something. Grandma Gracie, well,
she was supposed to just call her Gracie, but she never remembered--Grandma
Gracie was the calmest person, just sitting there thinking. Mrs. Philpott was
quiet after talking for a long time, drinking her tea and looking curiously at
Grandma Gracie. Grandpa was really excited. He was sitting on the floor between
Harry and Perceval, watching Perce type on the computer, and he kept laughing
and petting both of them enthusiastically. She smiled watching him. For a
veterinarian like Grandpa, this was the most amazing thing he ever saw in a
million years. Grandma Abby was worried, on the phone trying to call Uncle
Nathan, but it didn't sound like she could find him over there in Africa. Mom
was trying to tell her she was sure he'd be okay. Samantha laughed to herself.
Boy, were they in for a big surprise!

She tiptoed out of the room and headed for the
front door. She wanted to greet their next visitors by herself. Sam opened the
front door. "Hello Black and White. I'm Sam."

Black stood looking down at her with the owl on
his shoulder. His smile was like moonrise on a black night, slowly spreading
across his face. "So. You're the one," he said in satisfaction.

Sam nodded. "And you're the Protector. Come on
in." Fitting her small hand into his large one, she walked him through the
house into the den. "More company, Mom," she announced. "Meet Black and White."

"Oh, my," said Mrs. Philpott into the suddenly
quiet room.

Sonoran Desert, Arizona

Maria was still spitting mad and even Cleo the
cat didn't want to go near her. Phoebe was in the kitchen making grilled cheese
sandwiches for them for dinner. It helped her to stay busy and try not to
think. Zack and Margaret were looking at a large map of the U.S.

Zack was a bit bemused by Margaret. She was
attractive in a striking, exotic way, but the more he talked to her, the more
he lost awareness of that beauty as he saw how absolutely ruthless she was. She
seemed totally focused on two things--saving people if it was possible, but not
appearing to believe it was. And mostly focused on bettering her communication
with the planet. Nothing else mattered to her. Within a minute of Maria's
pouting about the network cutting her report short, Margaret walked away from
her, uninterested. Zack knew Maria was taking it so hard because she had seen
so much death. She wanted the news network and everyone listening to believe
her about the flood and was terrified no one would leave the area. Margaret, on
the other hand, seemed to just shrug and move on. Like she expected it.

"You expected them not to believe you," Zack
said to her.

Margaret looked up from the map and into his
gray-blue eyes, thinking they reminded her of storm clouds. "I've had some
experience lately with people not listening to my warnings."

"Is there anything else we can do?"

"Not at this point. Maybe after the flood. Then
I expect we can get Maria back on the air. At least until the power fails
everywhere. More people will believe after the flood."

"Margaret," he began hesitantly, "why is it
happening really? A planetary consciousness is hard to accept. And what's the
point? Of all the disasters, I mean."

She took a deep breath, then pursed her lips and
blew out slowly. "Well, that's the million-dollar question, Zack. I have
theories. It looks to me like the planet is fed up with what humans are doing
to her and is fighting back. Let's face it--one way to get rid of the pollution
and overpopulation, the destruction of nature, is to have a lot of natural
disasters happen all at once. If severe enough, in the right locations, the
population could be reduced drastically. And if at the same time, people could
communicate with animals, who could tell them what things they need to do to
deal better with nature...well, maybe people would change."