| A Cautionary Tale |
| By: Dale Rhodes |
| Chapter 3: Escape from Delucia-7 |
| Manifest |
| Coming Next Month! A Cautionary Tale Chapter 4: Why am I here? |
| Unearthly creatures rolling up behind me, a beautiful girl running out in front of me, waves of Luchae wriggling all around me, big red sun, faraway planet...this is not real. This cannot be real! I had a great deal of difficulty accepting my situation as I ran for my life across the Sea of Luchae. If not for the sweat stinging my eyes, the sound of my heart booming in my ears, the sweet smell of Lilac in my nostrils, and those damn house slippers slipping every time I ran up a wave, I would have thought I was having a nightmare. I kicked them off and continued running in my bare feet. I glanced to either side, and a cold chill rippled up my spine. Those creatures...those things had drawn abreast of our position and were about to encircle us. The cold chill became an icy realization. We are doomed. “There’s my ship!” Keely pointed ahead as she glanced over her shoulder. “Come on, hurry!” She lowered her head and ran even harder, pumping her arms furiously. Still some distance away I saw a shiny metallic craft, which bore no resemblance to any ship I had ever seen, anchored on top of the waves. It had no masts or smoke stacks, and no discernable bow or stern. In fact, it did not appear to be a ship at all. I yelled back. “They’re too fast! We’ll never reach your ship!” My mind raced right along with my body as I searched for impossible options. “There must be some way to fight them!” “With what? The only thing they’re afraid of is fire!” She looked to the side. “Oh, Stewart...” Her voice quivered and she sounded on the verge of tears, and then Keely returned. “God damn it, Stewart! I told you we shouldn’t stop!” Fire? All at once, I understood why the creature in my study would not come near me: I was standing in front of the fireplace. “Keely, wait!” I came to a halt and rushed to remove my lounge jacket. “No, don’t...” She took several more steps, realized we were surrounded, and then stopped. I saw her throw her arms up in resignation as she sank behind a wave. “Hurry! We still have a chance!” I dropped to my knees and dug in the pockets of my jacket for a box of Swan Vestas that I knew were in there...somewhere. As she ran up to me, I wondered if her face was red from running or from anger. I did not have to wait long for the answer. “Stewart, if I die here, I swear to God, I’m going to hate you for the last two seconds of my life!” “Here, now.” I found the lucifers and tossed her the box. “Light one of these and be quick about it.” Then I drove my fingers into the Luchae as hard as I could. “Matches?” She stood frowning at the box in her hand. “What the hell do you expect to do--” “Keely, light the match.” I was into the Luchae up to my forearm, and the creatures were closing in around us. She slid open the box. “There’s only three matches in here. What good—-” “Light the match!” My hand broke through the mat of Luchae and into the water below. “Don’t yell at me!” She picked out a match, struck it on the side of the box... and the match broke. “Stewart!” I glanced up — the creatures were almost upon us. I shuddered as I wrapped the bottom of my jacket around my arm and tried to calm my voice. “Light the match, Keely.” “I’m trying!” Her hands shook as she slid open the box again, and the remaining two matches disappeared into the wriggling Luchae. “Stewart!” She fell to her knees and pawed through the thick tubers. “This was a bad idea!” I could only groan. We are going to die. I yanked my arm out of the Luchae and pressed my jacket against the gushing fountain. “Keely?” She ignored me. “Keely, light the match.” The creatures were less than five yards away. “I found one!” She grinned and proudly held it up. “See?” “Light the damned match, woman!” Her grin blinked into a glare, and then she jumped to her feet. “Why are you being so mean to me? This is all your fault!” She lit the match. “Here! Here’s your stupid—” A powerful blow struck her from behind, lifted her off her feet, and drove the wind out of her lungs. The match flew from her fingers as she careened forward with a mixture of surprise and pain etched into her face. I watched them both fall as if in slow motion. “No!” I lunged at the match and threw my jacket out in front of me. It ignited with a flash. I grabbed the sleeves and leapt to my feet in a rage. “You bastards!” I swung my burning jacket at the creature that struck Keely. It erupted in bright blue flames, and then, with the ear-piercing screech of a steam whistle in reverse, the flames roiled in on themselves as though being sucked into a vortex, and phhtt...it was gone. “Yes!” I ran at the nearest creature, swinging the flaming jacket over my head and screaming in a most ungentlemanly way at the top of my lungs. There was another flash of blue flames, a wild screech, and it disappeared. “Damned blighters!” I ran in a circle around Keely, lashing out at any creature within reach. Their movements were quite sluggish when they were not rolling, and three, four, and then five of them burst into flames and disappeared. “Keely, get up!” She was on her hands and knees, wheezing and trying to suck the air back into her lungs. I wrapped my free arm around her waist and pulled her to her feet, but as I did so, the flames flicked up my jacket and the sleeve of my shirt began to burn. “Hell and damnation!” I dropped my jacket and let go of Keely. “Now I’m burning!” I slapped frantically at my sleeve, while I danced up and down on my toes and tried to keep an eye on the creatures at the same time. They slowly circled us at a wary distance. “Keely, we must leave here — now!” She was bent over with her arms around her stomach, gasping for breath and appearing as though she would vomit at any moment. I picked up my jacket, swung it over my head in a wide circle and backed the creatures off even further. “Climb on my back!” I took her by the arm and lifted her up while I twirled my flaming jacket out at arms reach. She murmured my name as she wrapped her arms around my shoulders and climbed onto me. “Stewart...” I said nothing and started towards her ship. As I struggled my way to the top of the first wave, I calculated the distance: 75 yards. Dear Lord, help us. Keely may have been a dainty young woman, but running up the steep face of a twelve-foot-high wave of slippery Luchae with her on my back was impossible. Instead, I had to stop and allow the wave to lift us, while I caught my breath and kept a furtive watch on the creatures. When the wave peaked, I ran down the other side of it as fast as I could. I glanced once more at her so-called ship — 45 yards. Mrs. Peale, where are those saints of yours? “Behind you!” I turned, and my heart almost stopped. Three creatures rolled down the wave straight at us. I had time only to lash out in quick desperation with my jacket, and three balls of blue fire slammed into my legs. I collapsed in a twisted tangle with Keely beneath me, and the blue flaming creatures on top of me. Their icy fires scorched my flesh with freezing intensity as I screamed and kicked with all my might. They each screeched and disappeared, and then I scrambled back to my feet, snarling and cursing. My legs were numb from the cold, and my body shook from head to toe, but I only felt the rage. “Up! Get up!” I grabbed Keely’s wrist and jerked her to her feet. “You must run! We’re almost out of time!” My jacket had begun to disintegrate, and as I swung it over my head, pieces of blackened, smoking cloth flew off into the Luchae. “Stewart...you have to...help me.” She sucked short, tight breaths into her lungs as she grimaced and doubled over in pain. “My ribs...I think...they’re broken.” “Hurry now! Put your arm around me.” I took her by the waist and half- dragged, half-carried her up the face of a wave. Her ship was only 20 yards away. “We can do this. Don’t stop now. We’re almost — Oh, no!” My words were cut short as two creatures rolled at us from both sides. I threw Keely out in front of me. She yelped and rolled down the wave as I leapt into the air over the first creature and slapped at it with what was left of my jacket. It erupted in flames, but my jacket flew apart in a shower of smoking ashes, leaving me with two barely flickering sleeves. The creatures collided, the first setting light to the second, and I heard their by now familiar screech as I ran to Keely and picked her up. "Come, Keely! You must trust me for a change. We must hurry!" I kept a wary eye on the five creatures that remained as we stumbled towards her ship. It was then that I observed the most peculiar phenomenon. Her craft did not rest on the Luchae at all, but rather it floated a yard above the surface. Moreover, it did not rise and fall with the action of the waves, but remained in a stationary position while the waves flattened out as they passed beneath it, as though meeting an invisible barrier. I also noticed another thing — the hull appeared to be caste in seamless metal with no indication of a hatchway anywhere in sight. “Keely, where’s the door? How do we get inside?” The flames on my jacket sleeves began to sputter. She raised her head and pointed at the hull. “Open ses…” “What?” The creatures had grouped behind us, preparing for a final charge. She inhaled a painful breath. “Open sesame!” I groaned. “You’re not serious.” But evidently she was. I watched in disbelief as a top section of the hull dissolved before my eyes, while a bottom section lowered in a ramp that lead into the ship. With yet another groan, I dragged her onto the ramp then looked over my shoulder. “Here they come!” I turned us around, and as we staggered backwards up the ramp, I threw the smoldering, useless remains of my jacket sleeves at them. “Keely, the door!” “Shut my mouth!” The ramp raised, the hull solidified, and we tumbled backwards into her ship. I landed on my back with a painful thud, while Keely landed on top of me with an agonized squeak. I raised my head and peered over her at the now sealed entrance, praying that our escape was complete. With no creatures in sight, I exhaled a deep breath and dropped my head back to the floor. The cool, dimly lit, and hauntingly quiet interior of her vessel brought a blessed sense of relief to my overheated body and mind. I silently thanked God for our escape. I had never been in such a terrifying situation in my life. “Mercy sakes...that was close.” “Close?” Keely put her hands to my chest and pushed herself upright, straddling me in a most un-lady-like manner. “That was close?” She slapped my chest. “You almost got us killed back there!” “What?” I rose up on my elbows, ignoring her indiscrete position. “I, almost got us killed?” I felt my face flush with anger. “You were the one who couldn’t light a simple match to save her soul!” “Oh, yeah, right!” She threw her arms up in disgust. “Blame it on me why don’ t ya!” She glared down at me and wagged her finger under my nose. “I wouldn’ t have had to light the stupid match, mister physical fitness, if you didn’t have to stop for a stupid siesta every two minutes!” “What?” I slapped her hand away, on the verge of losing my self-control. “Need I remind you, miss manners and grace, that you kidnapped me out of my study, without so much as a by-your-leave or a thank you very much!” “Kidnapped?” She gasped, her jaw fell open, and she appeared genuinely offended. “Ohhh, you...” She pushed off my chest, kneed me in the stomach, and stood up. “You’re impossible!” She spun around and stomped away, up a spiral ramp that wound its way through the centre of her ship. I was not a man usually given to sarcasm. Nevertheless, I deemed the occasion appropriate. “Well, well, at least now you and I have something in common, don’t we?” She tossed her hair and stuck her nose in the air, unruffled and aloof. I watched her as she wound her way, painlessly, up the ramp. “And whatever happened to those broken ribs of yours, missy?” She wrinkled her nose and stuck her tongue out at me. I snarled back at her, and then fell back on the deck, closed my eyes, and took a deep breath. Lord, just a tiny bit mercy, if you please. As I lay on the deck of the ship that was not a ship, trying to catch my breath and listening to Keely mutter to herself as she stomped up the ramp, it occurred to me that something had not appeared quite right. I opened my eyes. I had a clear view up through the centre of her ship to what I assumed to be the wheelhouse. I considered myself a fair judge of measure and distance, and from the outside, I would have sworn that her ship totalled no more than twenty-five feet in height. Now, however, from the inside, I estimated the distance to the wheelhouse to be at least forty feet. I rolled over and peered down. The ramp spiralled its way to the bottom of her ship, which I again estimated to be a distance of forty feet. That can’t be right. I rose to my feet slowly, feeling exceedingly stiff and aching from head to toe. I placed my hands in the small of my back and stretched, which was accompanied by a groan and several loud cracks. I looked, and felt, a dishevelled mess. My jacket and slippers were gone. My shirt had ripped, the sleeve was burnt, and the tail was hanging out. I needed a hot bath, a good meal, and a peaceful night’s sleep. I sighed. I need to go home. I started up the ramp, keeping one hand on the wall and staying well away from the edge, as I was none too fond of heights. “Keely, what kind of ship is this?” I paused at an oval opening in the wall and peered into a rather large, circular room. It too, appeared disproportionate in size when compared to my recollection of the exterior dimensions of the ship. From the place settings and bowls of colourful fruit on the tables, I assumed the room to be a dining area. I resisted the temptation of my rumbling stomach and continued up the ramp. “Keely?” I soon came upon another oval opening, which led into a room whose purpose eluded me entirely. Large orbs of a transparent blue material hung from the ceiling, suspended over six reclining couches, arranged like the spokes of a wheel around a multi-colored column in the centre of the room. My curiosity began to overcome my fatigue. “Keely?” I finally wound my way to the wheelhouse. “Keely, what kind of ship...?” She sat at a strange, semi-circular panel, deftly passing her hands over various odd-shaped protrusions and indentations, while in front of her, a round, semi-transparent model of what appeared to be a map of some sort, rotated in thin air. She reached out and poked her finger into the model, which I then realized had no substance at all. A faint ping sounded, and the image expanded into a closer view of a particular section of the map. A soft orange line curved its way through the center of the image, which grew in length as she continued to make adjustments at the panel. I sat down in the seat next to her, fascinated by what I saw. “How do you do that?” She ignored my question and barked in a surly tone, “Don’t touch anything.” I frowned as a familiar feeling of irritation returned. I had not intended to touch anything. I watched her press this and slide that, and marveled at the strange nature and simple arrangement of the controls. The room itself was quite small, containing only the unusual panel and the two seats. Enclosed by a grey iridescent dome, which I also had seen from the outside, it appeared to be a model of efficiency. “Keely, what kind of ship is this?” She refused to look at me as she continued manipulating the controls. “Yeah, like you’d understand even if I told you.” I very much resented her speaking to me as though I were a child, and my temper rose. “I will have you know, young lady, that I am an extremely well educated man, and I hold a full degree in Applied Mechanical Engineering from Oxford to boot! I also happen to have a keen interest in all scientific matters; I read all the latest scientific journals with interest; and am quite capable of understanding most of what is presented to me, so you can stop this nonsensical and patronizing habit of speaking to me as if I were a mere infant!” She turned to me with a pleased smirk on her face. “Calm down, Einstein. I didn’t mean anything by it. Maybe I did underestimate the tremendous cognitive powers of that quivering grey mass you naively call a brain.” I understood that, and bristled. “Just who do you think you are, you rude and obnoxious creature? How dare you talk to me in that manner?” “Okay, okay...never mind. I’m sorry. Jeez...don’t have a cow.” She turned back to her controls with a feigned air of indifference. “This is a Class II Vega starship, powered by triple cascading singularities that are contained within Fellucho polarised anti-gravity fields and modullated by a Rishi accumulating anti-boson multi-directional waveform generator.” She nonchalantly poked the rotating star map with her finger. It pinged and presented a new image. “So, did you get all that?” “Of course.” I lied, but managed to keep my dignity in the process. She cocked her head to the side, raised her eyebrows, and eyed me with suspicion. I softened. “Uh, well...all except that part about it being a Class II Vega starship, powered by triple cascading singularities that are contained within Fellucho polarised anti-gravity fields and modullated by a Rishi accumulating anti-boson multi-directional waveform generator.” She burst out laughing and slapped my knee. “That’s great, Stewart. I was beginning to think you had no sense of humour at all.” I scowled and pushed her hand off my knee. “Believe it or not, my close associates consider my sense of humour to be my most outstanding attribute.” Her eyes twinkled as she smiled. “Uh-huh.” Then she turned her attention back to the controls. As Keely went about her manipulations, I quietly studied her person with a certain introspective curiosity. My opinion of this young woman had undergone several major changes in the brief space of time since she first appeared in my study; and in spite her crude, un-lady-like manner, I found myself developing a sense of admiration for her unique abilities, as well as a growing sense of awe for her outrageous situation. She had whisked me away to a strange world with no more effort than might be required for a casual walk in the park. She seemed quite determined, understandably, to evade this mysterious Zuko person and his minions, although I hesitated to imagine for what cause he pursued her in the first place. She alluded to what she believed to be a fact: that I had been there before with someone named Leena, which was a notion I might have dismissed as outright nonsense had it not been for her mention of changing time signatures, whatever that meant. And, as ridiculous as that concept sounded at the time, when I considered all that had recently transpired, I found myself at least having to admit the possibility. Now, as I watched her at the controls of her Class II Vega starship, plotting our course through the heavens, I realized there was a great deal more to this young woman than her angelic beauty and her crude manners. Plotting our course through the heavens? “Keely, excuse me, but...a starship? Does that mean what I think it means?” She tapped a small round knob on the control panel. The dome around the bridge flickered and became transparent, giving us an unrestricted, all- around view of the Sea of Luchae, the massive red sun, and the five creatures milling about outside the ship. She turned to me with a devilish grin. “Let’s find out, shall we?” She reached for another knob. I sat bolt upright in my seat. “No, wait! I’m not ready for — Damn!” The ship exploded off the surface of Deluchia-7 as though shot from a cannon. I gripped the edge of my seat in terror. “Keely!” The planet fell away, we ripped through the clouds, and suddenly we were in space. “Keely, stop!” I had trouble breathing, and my breath came in short gasps. My fingers dug into the metal frame of the seat as I held on for dear life. Deluchia-7 shrank in our wake and disappeared, followed by its sun, and then in the next second...an eerie stillness and quiet. I felt no movement, save for my quivering body, and I heard no sound but my heaving breath. I turned to Keely, my eyes blinking with shock. The innocent, smiling cherub had returned. “Well, how do you like the ride so far?” “Oh, dear God above!” She threw her head back and laughed aloud, then bounced up and down in her seat, clapping her hands and giggling. “Pretty wild, huh?” I recalled the impression I had of her in my study, when she first smiled at me and I wondered if she was mad. She was building on that impression in a most spectacular fashion. I pried my hands away from the seat and flexed my aching fingers, then placed a hand to my pounding chest. “Would I be correct in assuming that your primary purpose in life is to give me a heart attack?” “Oh, come on now, Stewart. Don’t be such a grump.” She winked, and her eyes sparkled with mischief. “I was just having a little fun.” I gaped at her, incredulous. “A little fun? You could at least give me some warning, instead of terrifying me to the point of insanity every time I turn around!” Her lower lip pushed out in a mock pout. “Poor Stewart, sees the sun and shits his pants, then takes a little ride in space and has a heart attack.” She lowered her eyes and rubbed her chin. “Hmm...I wonder what he’s going to do when the real fun starts.” She sighed and shook her head. “Could get messy,” and with another mischievous grin, she turned back to the control panel. She had an unsettling way of making me feel less than hopeful about the future. Too numb to respond, I watched in silence as she touched a triangular indentation and the rotating star map reappeared. A small portion of the orange line had turned blue. She made a few more adjustments and then stood up. “Okay, we’re on course and running smooth. It’ll take about nine hours to get to Tessia, so we’ve got plenty of time to relax, grab a bite to eat, maybe take a nap...” She smiled and pointed at my clothes. “You’re looking a little frazzled there, Stewart.” She stepped towards the ramp. “One level below the entrance you’ll find a room where you can take a sonic shower and get cleaned up. Just take off your clothes, step inside the chamber, and push the big button. I brought along a couple of outfits that I think will fit you. You’ ll find them on the bed. Two levels down there’s a dining room with plenty to eat and drink.” She pointed to the control panel. “Don’t touch anything in here, unless you feel like getting up close and personal with a star, and stay out of the room with the couches and the blue balls, unless you feel like waking up a hundred years from now. Other than that, feel free to look around and make yourself at home. I’ll see you later...after I...Stewart? Why are you looking at me like that?” “You’re beautiful.” She gasped. Her hand went up to her mouth, and her face flushed bright pink. I sputtered a rapid apology. “I’m sorry. I couldn’t help myself...truthfully. I don’t know what came over me.” And I didn’t know. What on Earth had possessed me to say such a thing to a woman I had only just met? And to this woman in particular? I felt I must be going out of my mind. Her eyes began to well up with tears. “No, don’t cry. I truly am sorry, Keely. Forgive me, please. I didn’t mean it. I mean...well, yes, I meant it. It’s true, you are beautiful, but I didn’t mean to lose my manners, to make you — no, don’t!” I put my hands up to defend myself as she rushed at me, but instead of smacking me across the face as I expected, to my surprise, she flung her arms around my neck and squeezed me so tight I thought my neck might crack. “Oh, Stewart, that’s the nicest thing anyone has ever said to me.” Her shoulders shook as she let out a sob. “Nobody ever said I was beautiful before.” Her display of affection not only took me by surprise, but embarrassed me as well. I felt my own face flush as I patted her on the back. “There now, steady on. I don’t believe that nonsense for a moment. I’ll wager all the young men where you come from praise your beauty at every opportunity.” She sniffed and released my neck, then stood and began wiping the tears from her eyes. Her words came between huge sniffs. “You don’t understand. Where I come from, people look at me like I’m a freak. I’m half human, and bigger than they are, and everywhere I go I’m stared at, and little children laugh at me all the time, and ohhh...” She slipped her arms around my neck again and squeezed me tight. “Thank you, Stewart.” I had difficulty knowing what to think or what to feel. The revelation that she was half-human came as a shock, while her expression of isolation and loneliness tugged at my heart. I found myself overwhelmed by an on-rush of conflicting emotions. She loosened her grip on my neck and leaned back. Her pale-green eyes gazed into mine for a moment, and then she took my face in her hands and kissed me on the lips. “That’s for being the sweetest man in the whole galaxy.” She stood up and smiled like an angel. Then she slapped my face. “And that’s for almost getting us killed back there!” “What!” I jumped to my feet with my face stinging and my eyes blinking. She shrieked and whirled around, then ran down the ramp, waving her arms in the air and squealing like a little girl. She stopped on the second level, and with an impish grin, tossed me a finger wave. “Bye, now.” Dazed and confused, I dropped onto the seat and listened to her giggle and skip her way into the depths of the ship. I should have chased her down and given her a good telling off. However, at that moment, I felt so physically and emotionally spent that I could barely manage to hold my head up. I sank back into the seat and let my arms fall to my sides. I stared out into the empty blackness of what I now knew must be outer space, while a host of unanswered questions streaked through my mind like comets in the night. My eyelids grew heavy and fluttered closed. One by one, my questions faded into the darkness, until only one question remained as my consciousness slipped down a deep dark hole. Why am I here? *** Coming next month: Chapter 4 – WHY AM I HERE? |