The Search For WondLa (9 page)

The lanky creature laughed out loud. “This makes much more sense to me now,” he said.

“What’s so funny?” Eva asked.

Rovender’s smile disappeared. “You are not on this planet you call ‘Earth,’ Eva Nine. You are on a planet named Orbona.”

CHAPTER 17: DOORS

On planet
Orbona? What?” Eva exclaimed.

“Orbona?” Muthr repeated. “There is no planet in the Milky Way galaxy by that name. Though there are numerous planets yet to be identified, Mr. Kitt, you must surely be mistaken.”

“Shh! Hold on. Muthr, be quiet for a sec,” Eva said, closing her eyes. Something vague and distant wafted into her thoughts.

“What?” Muthr asked, alarmed. “What is happening, Eva?”

Rovender knelt close. “What is it?”

“I think it’s Otto,” Eva answered, her eyes still shut. “But he’s so far away that I can barely hear him.”

“Concentrate,” Rovender said, his voice soft. “Open yourself to his call.”

“What is Otto?” Muthr asked. “Can you please tell me what is going on here?”

The hunter. You. Home.

Eva opened her eyes wide. “It’s Besteel. He’s here!”

“Sheesa!” Rovender lifted an ear toward the staircase.

Even Eva could hear the hum of the glider’s engine shut off. “We can’t go out the main entryway,” she said.

“How did you escape before?” Rovender asked.

“Back to the kitchen exhaust vent,” Muthr said, taking Eva by the hand. The robot led them out of the generator room. “Let us go!”

As they dashed through the robot’s control room, Eva glanced up and saw a shadow darken the top of the stairwell.

“Come! Come! Come!” Rovender hopped behind them, shoving Eva and Muthr into the main hub. “We must hurry!”

“Hold on!” Eva yelled, halting in front of the scorched kitchen doorway. “This way won’t work. Muthr can’t go up the shaft.”

“Eva, dear,” Muthr said. “It is all right. I—”

“It’s
not
all right,” Eva barked. “We came back for you, and you’re leaving with us!”

“Whichever path we choose, we need to choose it in a hurry.” Rovender’s tone was antsy as he looked over his shoulder into the control room. Dark gray claws grabbed the half-open door of the room. With tremendous strength they pried it open, revealing the sinister, predatory face of Besteel.

“Ruzender Keet,” he hissed in a heavy accent. “You has something that beelongz to me!”

“This way!” Eva yanked Muthr into the storage room. “Into the next Sanctuary!”

“Wait, do you need more provisions before exiting?” Muthr asked as she was pulled through the maze of overturned shelves and spilled supplies. Rovender followed, limping fast with his walking stick.

Eva turned to see Besteel bound across the main hub.

“Rovee! Hit the red button!” she yelled, standing in the doorway of the secret hallway. Rovender banged the door’s manual pad with the bottom of his stick as he hopped by. The damaged doors creaked as they attempted to shut, but they could not close all the way. Once more Besteel wriggled his clawed hands into the gap between the doors and began wrenching them apart.

“Come on!” Eva ushered Muthr through the back door hatch while Rovender hobbled closer. Behind him, Besteel’s immense arm groped about for the control panel of the half-open doors. Then he withdrew his arm and replaced it with the bulbous muzzle of his rifle. The distinct hum of the charging weapon vibrated in Eva’s ears.

“Let’s go!” She pushed Rovender inside the secret hallway.

“Sanctuary, please lock down sibling corridor hatch,” Muthr commanded. Her amber eyes glowed in the dark hallway. The door slid shut behind them and locked into place. Beyond it Eva could hear the hum of Besteel’s rifle rising higher and higher in pitch.

“Go! Go! Go!” Rovender pushed them down the hallway.

Besteel fired his rifle. The intense sonic wave battered the back wall of the supply room. Dust and rubble pelted Eva, followed by a low, straining creak.

“What’s that?” She looked up from her cowering position in the darkness.

“It is the support structures,” Muthr’s voice echoed through the hall. “They have been damaged.”

“Move!” Rovender yelled.

A loud rending sound erupted as the ceiling over the trio gave way. Rovender and Eva scrambled forward, toppling over Muthr. Behind them a deluge of rock and rubble poured into the hallway, blocking the path.

“Are you all right?” Muthr asked.

Clearing her throat, Eva pulled herself up to sitting position. “I’m fine, thanks,” she answered. Eva tried brushing the dirt and dust off her clothing, but all she managed to do was smudge it around. “How are you?” She could see that one of Muthr’s extended arms was bent at an odd angle.

“I tried to brace my fall with arm three,” Muthr said, holding up the bent metal rods that had been her forearm. “Though the arm sustained permanent damage, I believe all else is intact.” She retracted the remaining wires from the damaged arm into her torso.

There was a coughing behind them. “Rovee!” Eva cried, kneeling down next to her companion. “Are you okay?”

Rovender dragged himself out of the rubble with a groan. “I will be okay, Eva Nine. Many gratitudes,” he said, slumping against the wall. “That cursed boomrod rifle of his does more damage than an angry male grall in a bayrie’s crystal nest.” He sneered as he lit his lantern and pulled out a bottle. “Where are we?”

Eva looked over at Muthr. “Good question. Tell us, Muthr, where are we?”

“Apparently you already know, Eva. So why don’t you tell Mr. Kitt,” the robot answered, still examining her damaged limb.

Eva pulled out her Omnipod and brought up the hologram of the Sanctuary’s entire floor plan. “We are in a connecting corridor that will take us to a neighboring Sanctuary,” she said. “A Sanctuary, for some reason, I was never allowed to go to.”

Muthr looked over at her. “That is correct, Eva. Of course, this was based on a decision made by our Sanctuary and myself. A decision made as a safety precaution, which you obviously disobeyed.”

Eva fumed. “Oh, really! I don’t think—”

“Eva Nine, Mother Robot”—Rovender stood up between the two—“let us put this decision aside and proceed to this adjoining Sanctuary. Hopefully, there we shall find shelter for the night and refuge from Besteel.” He set off, his many belongings tinkling together on his rucksack as he went. Muthr looked at Eva for a beat, her eyelids clicking loudly. She wheeled behind Rovender, dropping her severed forearm. Eva followed, trudging slowly as the three journeyed down the dark corridor.

“Heart rate BPM acceleration detected, Eva Nine,” her tunic announced. “Please—”

Eva shut off the tunic before it could finish its report. Her damp palms gripped the Omnipod tightly as she journeyed farther down the hallway. The trio would soon be arriving at the end of the hall—the location of Eva’s secret place. There was nowhere else to go. This was the only path out.

“Muthr?” Eva’s voice was hushed. She kept her eyes down on the Omnipod’s glow.

“Yes, dear,” the robot answered, rolling behind Rovender.

“Um … there is something you should know. Something I should have told you.”

“And what is that?” Muthr asked.

“You were right. I’ve been sneaking out of the Sanctuary and into here.”

Muthr was quiet as she slowed down to match Eva’s reluctant pace. They were nearing the halfway point in the corridor.

“And … well,” Eva said with a gulp. “I’ve been bringing stuff here, my old stuff, the stuff you told me to get rid of.”

“I know,” Muthr whispered.

“You—you do?” Eva looked up and stopped walking.

Muthr turned to her. “It is all right, Eva,” she said. “You needed your space. Even living in that big, lonely Sanctuary, you still required a place where you felt truly alone. Solitude.”

Eva looked down, processing this. “But if you knew, why wouldn’t you let me go find the kids in the other Sanctuary?”

Muthr put her arm around Eva. She could feel the warmth of the robot’s body permeate her clothing. Muthr’s voice was gentle. “Eva, our Sanctuary told me that the surrounding Sanctuaries, including this Sanctuary up ahead, were nonfunctioning—with a ninety-eight percent chance of non-occupancy. Now, if we enter and there are people present, I will be the first to apologize and tell you how wrong I was in keeping it sealed off. All right?”

Eva nodded, saying nothing more. They continued onward to the end of the hallway.

“Oeeah! I’d say you’ve been bringing things here, Eva Nine,” Rovender exclaimed, shining his lantern light on the accumulated objects that surrounded the door. “This is quite a collection.”

Muthr slipped past him to approach the damaged controls for the door. She lifted up the manual control plate and connected several of the door’s wires to herself. The red and green lights on the control panel flickered on. “Are you ready?” she asked, turning to Eva.

“Is there anything you want to bring with you?” Rovender bent down, examining the altar of possessions. Eva knelt next to him and picked up her stuffed Beeboo doll.

“I gave you that for your third birthday,” Muthr mused. “Do you remember?”

“I do,” Eva said, nuzzling the grungy doll as it winked and smiled at her. As she did so, its wobbly head rolled off, spilling yellowed stuffing out of it. Rovender gasped.

Without a word Eva set the Beeboo doll back in its special spot. With a delicate hand she picked up the doll’s head and placed it back on top of its body. “You take good care of everyone, okay?” she said to it.

As Eva’s eyes took in every detail of her collection one final time, she paused on a lone item—the item not given to her by Muthr. She plucked the WondLa up from her hoard.

“What is that?” Muthr extended her neck to get a better view.

“Nothing really,” Eva answered, showing her the deteriorated image. “It’s just something I found … something I hope to find again.” Eva tucked it into her satchel and took a deep breath. “Okay,” she said, “I’m ready.”

“Okay,” Rovender echoed.

“Okay,” Muthr said.

Eva stepped past her collection and walked through the doorway of the adjoining Sanctuary.

CHAPTER 18: SUSTENANCE

The first thing
Eva noted was the smell. It was the dirty earthen scent of damp potting soil. She recognized it from her many “hands-on” horticulture exercises held in the greenhouse. But Eva wasn’t standing in this Sanctuary’s greenhouse. She was standing in the main hub.

Roots from thing unseen trees above had wriggled their way down, cracking the Sanctuary’s ply-steel roof like an eggshell. Through the open doors of the bedroom, Eva could see that the ceiling had partially collapsed, opening up to the night sky above. Unusual fungi and lichens covered walls that at one time had held holo-projectors and geothermal heating units.

Muthr turned to Eva, her amber eyes dim in the Sanctuary’s darkness. “I am sorry, Eva. I truly wish I had been wrong about this place,” she said.

“It’s okay.” Eva sniffed. “I’m sorry I didn’t believe you.”

“Do not worry.” Muthr hugged Eva tightly. “We shall continue searching.”

“The main entrance has caved in,” Rovender observed, pointing to the remains of the control room. “We cannot exit through there.”

“Let us journey on to the next Sanctuary,” Muthr said, scanning the doorway of the old supply room with a laser. “Or we could stay here for the night. How are you feeling, Eva?”

“I do want to see the other Sanctuary,” Eva said, glum. “But maybe it would be good to take a break. I’m tired.”

“Very good,” Muthr said.

“We should rest, Eva. You’ve had quite a day,” Rovender concurred, looking up at the ceiling. “However, we should retire in a more concealed chamber. Let’s check the other rooms.”

Eva translated for Muthr, and the trio split up, exploring the overgrown Sanctuary.

From the gymnasium doorway Eva was greeted by a large growth of jade green mushrooms projecting outward toward her. She heard the mushrooms inhale and exhale as their caps expanded and contracted. Their breathing was in rhythm with a trickling sound that echoed from within the overgrown gym.

“Are you all right?” Muthr asked as she approached Eva.

“Yeah,” Eva replied, shining her Omnipod light around the room. “I just wonder if we will find any other humans here at all.”

Muthr’s gaze followed the cluster of mushrooms growing rampant over most of the gymnasium walls and corroded equipment. She whispered, “Only time will tell. Though, I must say, I find it hard to believe that we are truly on another planet. Even if the Omnipod classifies everything here as unidentifiable.”

“I know. I can’t even believe it either,” Eva said, watching water drip down from the ceiling into the pond that had once been the wading pool. The pond’s surface reflected the soft glow of the Omnipod in green rippled rings. Tall sphere-topped reeds towered in clumps at the pond’s edge.

“Believe it.” Rovender joined them. “Good work, Eva Nine. You’ve found our camp for the night.”

“Really?” she said, looking at the fungi growing over the tiled floor.

“Yes.” Rovender slid off his rucksack and set it down next to the pool. He leaned over the edge and slurped up the water.

“You’re drinking that?” Eva watched as Rovender splashed his face.

“Sure,” he replied, pulling an empty bottle out from his sack. He skimmed it along the surface of the pool. “As long as I drink the freshly fallen water here, just below the surface. See?” He held up the bottle, now full of mostly clear liquid.

“But what’s that?” Eva pointed to dark particles swirling around in the bottle.

Rovender chuckled. “It will settle to the bottom, Eva Nine. Do not fret. This water is good.”

“Perhaps he can drink that, Eva, but not you,” Muthr said, her red laser penetrating the bottle.

“Muthr says I can’t drink it.” Eva’s tone was apologetic.

“Bluh.” Rovender shook his head and sat down next to the pool. Eva flopped down next to him, watching as he submerged his bandaged foot in the water.

“Eva, I would like to further study the details of the organisms you recorded on Identicapture, if you do not mind,” Muthr said.

“Sure, no prob.” Eva unstrapped the Omnipod from her wrist and handed it to Muthr.

“If you need to rehydrate, have more Pow-R-drink, dear,” Muthr said as she took the device.

“Okay.” Eva pulled the plastic bottle out from her satchel.

“Eva Nine, can you bring me the fruit that grows on top there?” Rovender asked as he pointed to the spindly reeds growing on the far side of the pool.

“Over here?” Eva said, hopping up and walking over to the slender reeds.

“Yes, yes,” Rovender said as he unstrapped a bedroll from his pack. “Those are the ones.”

Eva gathered an armful of the translucent spherical fruit that grew on the tips of the sturdy stalks, only dropping one on her return trip back to the makeshift camp.

“Many gratitudes to you,” Rovender purred. “These look ripe too.” He was now sitting on his bedroll, patting an additional roll he had laid out for Eva. She sat down and dropped the armload of fruit into his lap.

“These are voxfruit,” he said, grabbing one and ripping the rind off. “They are not often found but are very tasty. I will have to remember this place.” The inside of the fruit was full of bright green berries, which the creature devoured with relish. Rovender handed the other half of the fruit to Eva.

She studied the berries. “I don’t know, Rovee… . I could get sick.”

“Yes. You could get sick,” Muthr echoed, her gaze still on the Omnipod.

“Do I look sick?” Rovender asked through a mouthful of fruit.

Eva pulled open the lid on her drink container and took a sip.

“I am curious,” Rovender said as he peeled another voxfruit, “what is it that you are drinking?”

“Pow-R-drink?” Eva replied. “It’s, you know … like juice.”

“It is a pH-balanced vitamin-enriched water solution,” Muthr answered.

“With gum flavoring,” Eva added as she translated to Rovender. “And look!” She stuck out her blue-stained tongue.

Eva’s lanky companion drew back, unsure of how to react.

“Here. You wanna try some?” She passed the bottle to Rovender. Muthr paused from studying the Omnipod to watch the interaction.

Rovender sniffed the contents of the bottle. He then gulped some down, made a sour face, and spat the liquid out over his shoulder. “Bluh! It tastes like chemicals.”

Eva heard Muthr chuckle. Rovender glared at the robot.

“If you are thirsty, you should have this instead.” Rovender swallowed down the water he had collected.

“Um, yeah, thanks anyway, but I don’t want to puke,” Eva said, taking another sip of her drink.

Muthr added, “Eva, please remind Mr. Kitt that his water is not purified. It is likely filled with all sorts of bacteria. You could become quite ill from it.”

Rovender narrowed his eyes at Muthr. “This water has been filtered through the soil of Orbona, Eva Nine. It tastes of the sky and the land it originated from. The land you both are now a part of.”

Eva pondered this for a moment while she picked at her fingernail.

“Eva, you have your hydration kit,” Muthr said. For a moment it appeared as if she understood Rovender’s statement as she returned the Omnipod to Eva. “And I have packed a quantity of purification tablets, should you need to drink the natural water here. However, I do not believe it will come to that. We shall rendezvous with inhabitants of our neighboring underground facilities soon enough.”

“What about your robot mother?” Rovender pointed at Muthr with a voxfruit rind. “What food and water does she drink?”

“Muthr doesn’t eat,” Eva answered. “She’s just a robot.”

Muthr added, “Though I am a manufactured hybrid biocomputer, and contain what some may consider ‘living organs,’ I use no metabolic processes to gain energy. Instead I derive all my power from a replaceable centurion power cell.”

Eva translated all of this to Rovender as she finished her drink.

“One who does not drink or eat, who tells the other what she must eat and drink … Curiouser and curiouser,” Rovender said, and stared at the girl and the robot.

Eva returned her empty drink container to her satchel. While doing so, she spied the WondLa. She pulled it out and studied it by a flickering lantern light. She thought it odd to have the WondLa with her, away from its secret place.

“Is this the thing you took from your collection, Eva Nine?” Rovender threw another rind into the pool and scooted close for a better look. “Of all the things you left behind, why did you choose to keep this?”

“This?” Eva answered, her eyes fixed on the crumbling picture. The little girl in the depiction was happy. Smiling. The robot beside her was also smiling. Along with the headless adult, they were holding hands and walking together, moving forward.

They were one. They were a family.

“I call this my WondLa,” Eva whispered.

“Wond-La?” Rovender repeated.

“Why?” Muthr asked.

“If you look closely, they’re the only words left on it that you can read. It’s the only thing I own that didn’t come from our Sanctuary. I thought it came from the people living here, but I guess I was wrong.” Eva let out a long, dejected sigh.

“You are correct, Eva,” Muthr said. “I have a record of all inventory within these Sanctuaries and it did not come from here.”

“But it had to come from somewhere,” Eva replied. “I think another human left it for me.”

“But it is not in our inventory,” Muthr said, looking down at the WondLa. “Perhaps it was left by the likes of Besteel or Mr. Kitt.”

Eva rubbed her thumb over the image of the little girl.

“It looks very old. Very dirty,” Muthr added. “Are you sure you want to bring it?”

“Don’t you get it, Muthr?” Eva said, affronted. “Look at the girl and her parent. Look at their robot. See how happy they all are? When is the last time you and I smiled like that?”

“Actually, we did so three hundred and seventy-eight days ago when you beat me in a game of holo-gammon,” Muthr replied. “But still, there was a reason this was not in our home. It is covered in mildew and contaminated with bacteria.”

Eva rolled her eyes. “Have you ever seen anything like this?” she asked, handing it to Rovender.

“Like this?” Rovender wiped his hands on his tattered jacket before taking it. “No, Eva Nine, I have not. But I have seen similar objects in the Royal Museum in Solas.” He handed it back.

“The where?” Eva perked up.

“The Royal Museum. It is in the city of Solas.” Rovender lay down on his mat, resting his head on his large rucksack. He closed his eyes. “It is ruled by Queen Ojo. Perhaps there you might find someone with answers about your village.”

“Can you take us?” Eva asked.

“What is he saying?” Muthr said.

“He says there is a museum with other items like this,” Eva held up the WondLa. “He’s going to take us there.”

“Take you? I did not say that, Eva Nine.” Rovender opened one eye at the girl. “What I did say was that Besteel is on our trail. We’d be better off if we split up.”

“We will no longer require Mr. Kitt’s services once we reach the surface,” Muthr said. “With the Omnipod, we should be capable of locating a safe route to the next underground facility.”

“You’ll see how useless that thing is once we’re aboveground,” Eva muttered.

“Eva, let us not—”

“Not now, Muthr!” Eva barked. She looked over at Rovender. He appeared to be asleep.

Muthr sighed. “I think I shall check the structural integrity of this Sanctuary and keep watch for any signs of the intruder,” she said as she exited the gymnasium. “Try to get some rest, Eva. Tomorrow we shall continue our search.”

Eva lay back on her bedroll, staring up at the rivulet of water on the cracked ceiling above. She heard the ceiling weep—
drip, drip, drip
—into the green pool next to her. It reminded Eva of holograms she’d seen of caverns. Dark caves had always appeared mysterious and spooky when she’d explored them in the holo-chamber, yet here she somehow felt secure. Safe.

“Rovee?” she asked aloud.

“Yes, Eva Nine.”

“Do you really think we might find other humans in the city of Solas?” She turned on her side to face him, her head propped up on her hand.

“I cannot say, but it is a big city. There are many sorts that dwell there.”

“Muthr’s never been aboveground before. And the Omnipod is not really working right… .” Eva swallowed. “Could … could you take us there? Then we’ll leave you alone, I promise.”

The lanky creature remained still with his eyes closed. “There is a fishing village, Lacus, that’s about a two-day hike from here if we journey east through the Wandering Forest,” Rovender said. “I will guide you. Once in Lacus, though, you will be on your own.”

“How will we get to Solash from there?” Eva asked.

“Solas,” Rovender corrected her. “You can take a ferry across Lake Concors, which will bring you directly into the main port.”

“Thanks, Rovee.” Eva lay back on her bedroll. “Thank you so much.”

“Get some rest, Eva Nine.” Rovender crossed his large hands over his narrow chest.

Eva took off her jackvest and balled it up into a pillow. As she settled down, she spied Muthr standing silently in the gymnasium doorway, the robot’s silicone skin glowing in the pale lantern light.

Eva tucked the deteriorating WondLa into the inside pocket of her tunic, next to her beating heart, and closed her eyes.