“I don’t know,” Corona said honestly. “Follow me quickly so we can get out of here without being seen.”
I’m not sure what just happened but it sure was useful. And why hadn’t Flora shown us that covering? She wondered what else had been kept from them.
They emerged and Corona touched the wall. The opening closed smoothly.
“That was so cool,” Stanley said. “I hope they show us how to make something like that at our homes. I want that, too. It’d be great for my bedroom. It’s be great for our whole house.”
“We’ll be lucky if they ever show us anything again,” Corona said. “Something’s wrong here and we need to find out what it is to protect ourselves. I’ve had some bad feelings about this place for awhile now.” She reminded herself to keep her veil down while here.
Corona led the way to a transport parked behind Flora’s house. She pulled the transport device off the back of the mobile and placed it around her neck. “Let’s go. I think our first stop should be the Human Camp. Some powerful negative energy is coming from that direction. The In Situs say my grandparents aren’t there, but I want to see for myself. And I want to do that before they stop visiting us altogether.” She sat down in the transport.
“They wouldn’t do that,” Stanley said. “They’ve got too much invested in all of us. And I think they like us. Besides, what would be their reason?” He sat down next to Corona. “We’re like their family. Well, maybe not their family. We’re like their friends. Well, sort of.” He was struggling.
“Yeah,” Sarah said. “Why would they do that?” She climbed in the back. “Huh? Why?” She turned to Stanley. “I don’t feel like their family. Maybe a friend. Maybe.”
“I don’t know,” Corona said. “For all their interest in us, they’ve hardly been to see us the last couple weeks and I want to know why.”
The Korsa settled into the vehicle and Corona activated the transport device for the ride.
“I love this,” Stanley said as they sped along the energy matrix toward the back of the Human Camp. “I can’t stop saying it. I want one of these for myself. Maybe two. I wonder if I can get one in red with cool leather seats. Maybe with a black stripe over it. And satellite communications, too. Does it have a backup camera?”
Terrain sped by at an unfathomable speed, blurring the vehicle and whatever the mobile was passing. From the outside, the transport couldn’t be seen except for a shadowy trail that came and went. Those who noted it were unable to view the occupants due to the impression of the energy wave being ridden.
“You can want one all you like, Stanley, but I have a feeling we’ll be lucky if we ever get to this place again,” Corona said. She nudged the transport close to the building to make it less visible. When it came to a halt she stepped out, urging her friends to do the same.
Corona placed the transport device on the back of the seat where she found it and walked onto the back porch of the main Meeting Room. She looked around at the compound outside. There were no mobile units nor beings of any kind in view. The community appeared abandoned.
“Where is everybody?” Sarah asked. “The camp’s deserted. And what are those for?” she asked, pointing to piles of bare, floating pallets lining the edge of the grounds.
“And, something smells bad here.”
“Yes, it does. I don’t like this,” Stanley said. He looked to Corona for some answers. “I don’t like the look of this at all.”
“Neither do I,” Corona agreed. “Let’s get inside so we aren’t seen if someone comes by.” She opened the back door, took one last glance at the empty pallets, and went inside with her friends.
She led Sarah and Stanley to the interior space. The large area seemed lonely. Lifeless.
They walked through the room and stood near the pantry. An unattended air sparkle circled the area. Sensing life nearby, it hovered close to them.
“This is so weird,” Sarah said. She thought about the rows of empty pallets. “What did all those empty pallets look like to you?” she asked them.
“I’m not sure,” Stanley said. Then he laughed. “It looked like they were having a huge yard sale. Although I don’t have a clue as to what they could sell.”
“That’s not funny,” Corona said.
Stanley stopped laughing. “Sorry,” he said. “We don’t know what they were for. It could be anything.” He snickered again at his yard sale joke.
“I said it’s not funny,” Corona said. “I’m getting some terrible feelings about this place. Feelings of loss and sorrow.”
“Gee, I’m sorry,” Stanley said kindly. He wanted to comfort her, but wasn’t sure how. He moved closer, put his hand on her arm and patted it. “We don’t know what’s going on. Maybe everybody was moved to another place.”
“Yeah. Maybe they just built a new and better camp and moved everyone there. There’s probably a perfectly good explanation for this,” Sarah said, trying to bolster her own sagging spirit. She added, “I’m getting scared.”
“Shh,” Corona said. “I think I hear something.” She motioned for her friends to get inside the pantry closet, pulling the door closed behind them. Corona hugged the wall and peeked out through the doorjamb. If she squinted, she could just see a little of the meeting hall.
Stanley shuffled his feet.
Corona reached over and tapped him to stop.
After a couple minutes, Corona thought maybe she was mistaken and began to relax. We should get out of here.
The door of the meeting hall opened and two In Situs entered.
Corona sensed danger and tried hard to veil her thoughts and those of her companions. Hiding the thoughts of all of them was something she’d never tried before. She hoped it worked.
Fancy glided about the room with Darker lumbering behind. They moved around the perimeter of the hall, not wanting to search the whole of the compound. Every few minutes they stood still, as if trying to hear sounds of intruders.
Satisfied they were alone, Fancy said, “How do you like your new home, Darker? It’s bigger than what you were in, and its closer to the Common House.”
“I like it. Has all the latest features and twice the space I’m used to. I was told the All confiscated it from the previous occupant because he wasn’t helping them as much as me. It pays to support them.”
“It pays to work for the one who holds the purse strings,” Fancy said. “Better yet, it’s good to be the one holding the purse. What I’m wondering is who rode that transport here.”
“I don’t know,” Darker said. “Maybe it was part of the cleanup and dismantling crew. They’re not finished removing the pallets from the camp. Some are still out there. Bob-Boy was part of that detail. Maybe he rode it in and then left with the crew disposing of all the extra items. It could’ve been any of the ones assigned to that task.”
“That’s probably it,” Fancy said. “We should report it to the All. It’s our duty. They want to know of any suspicious activity since the deaths of the humans here.”
Upon hearing the last statement, Corona stifled a gasp. Her pulse raced through her body. That was what was alarming me all these weeks. She was glad she had a veil to hide her every thought and emotion from them.
Stanley and Sarah looked shocked at what they’d heard.
Corona put her finger to her lips as a reminder for them to be quiet.
Fancy caught a hint of something uneasy. She tuned her head about, her eyeband glowing a bright pinkish hue. The feeling faded just as quickly as it came and she attributed it to her own apprehension over everything that had been going on. “I don’t like what’s been happening with the Hybrids,” she said to Darker on the way out. “I’ll put an end to all of that.”
“We should get out of here,” Darker said. “The Travelers will be coming here to squat, soon. They’ve decided to take over this camp for their use while they’re in the area. They’ll make a mess of it.”
“At least with this place to stay in, they won’t be spreading the
ir waste all over the yards and streets as they had been,” Fancy said. “I don’t think the All will tolerate them imposing here for long.”
“And I don’t think they’ll treat this place any better than they do anywhere else,” Darker answered. “We’ll have to be the ones cleaning it up. Travelers never clean up after themselves. Disgusting. It’s a wonder we’re not all sick with something because of them.”
They went out of the building and left the compound.
She’s a traitor. Corona thought. I must tell Flora. Unless Flora’s a traitor, too. No, that can’t be. It’s just Fancy. She’s gonna put an end to us. She wants us dead.
Corona didn’t know what to think. She hadn’t liked the comments they’d heard. If only Fancy would’ve stayed longer, maybe I could’ve read her mind.
“I think they’re gone,” Stanley whispered after a few minutes. “And I think we should get out of here, too. You heard what they said. People who lived here are now dead.”
“Corona, they said everyone who lived here is dead. I’m frightened. Let’s go now,” Sarah said, inching closer to Corona.
“Corona. Are you alright?” Stanley asked when she didn’t answer.
“I’m okay,” Corona said. “I wonder what happened to the humans. I was hoping to learn if I had family here. I don’t know what to think. I’m confused about all this. We have to get to Flora and find out what’s happened, and tell her that Fancy wants us gone.” She pulled on the knob and they hastily walked to the exit. Pausing before stepping out onto the porch, they looked around to make sure no one was nearby.
“What’s going on?” Sarah asked. “We’ve got to leave now before someone finds us and kills us, too.” She stifled a sob that was caught in her throat. “Oh my gosh. I can’t believe this is happening.”
Corona hugged her friend. “We’re gonna be fine. And, yes, we should leave soon. Before we go back, there’s something I want to do. Get in the transport and I’ll tell you my plan.” Corona programmed the transport device and put it around her neck.
The friends settled down in their seats.
“Hurry, we need to get out of here before they come back,” Sarah said. “Corona, get going.”
“Do the two of you want to stay here and wait for me to return?” Corona said. “I’ve something to do before we leave here.”
“I’m not staying here,” Sarah said. “This is creepy. And we should all stay together. Just in case.”
“I’m not staying here either,” Stanley agreed. “And I wanta’ stay with you in case you need me.”
“Then be quiet and pay attention,” Corona said.
“But where is it you wanta’ go?” Stanley asked.
Corona didn’t answer. She was thinking about the Ward. How are those little ones made? What about the lesion on my arm? Sarah and Stanley don’t have one. She touched the area and got an impression of why her skin cells had been taken, and what it was that was happening with them.
As the trio entered the transport vehicle, a copy of “Our News” drifted like a silent witness across the yard. The headline claimed, “Prison Pods Found With Humans Inside.”
Chapter Twenty Four
“How did you know how to find this place?” Stanley asked. “And where are we anyway?” When she didn’t reply he said, “Never mind, I know what you’ll say. ‘You just knew.’ Right?” Even though he didn’t totally understand the scary depth of her intelligence, he was proud and happy to be with her.
“Right,” Corona said. “I just knew.”
“What is this place and what’re we doing here?” Sarah asked. “We shouldn’t be here. We should go home.”
“There’s something I need to find out,” Corona said. She settled the transport to the back of the Ward so it wouldn’t be seen from anyone approaching the front. “This building is called the Ward. From what I’ve learned so far, it’s where the In Situs get their little ones.”
She saw the questioning looks on her friend’s faces. “Their babies,” Corona said. “This is where they have babies made. That’s all I know.”
Sarah and Stanley just looked at each other and then back at Corona.
“That can’t be,” Sarah said. “We know where babies come from. We learned that a long time ago.”
“You don’t know how they get babies here,” Corona said. “And I’m not sure I know either. I just know this is where they get their babies, what they call ‘little ones.’ ”
“What’s that building connected to this one?” Sarah asked.
“Whatever it is, it doesn’t look like a good place. Let’s hurry and get inside,” Corona said. She didn’t want to tell Sarah the truth and scare her more. The truth she understood from a source unknown to her, her inner voice, that it’s a place of finality. A crematory for turning living things to dust, destroying them. She shuddered at the thought.
The belt leading from the outside dock to inside the crematory, was still.
Corona gave it a glance before opening a side door to the Ward. Whatever goes on in there is also connected to this place. She’d noticed the smaller-sized tube going from the side of the Ward directly into the crematory. It was all making sense and yet it wasn’t.
“I’ll lead the way,” Corona said. “If there’s any trouble, maybe you two can get away and bring help.”
“What trouble?” Stanley said. “And who would help us? I don’t know who to trust. And I told you I’m not going to ask anymore how you know things. Like, your knowing there was a side door here. How do you know all this stuff?”
“As I said, don’t ask,” Corona said. “You still have to get someone to help me if something goes wrong. Understand?”
Stanley nodded his head, but had no idea as to what he would do if they were caught. He hoped that neither of the girls recognized he felt helpless and had no Plan A, let alone a Plan B.
Corona wished she knew all of her own capabilities. Most of the time, she was winging it, willing answers to come to her when she needed to know them. So far, that technique had worked most of the time. Whether it would work for everything was something she couldn’t be sure of. I’ve got to try to do more. Although she didn’t know it’s origin, she was thankful for the familiar inner voice that sometimes advised her.
They moved through a short, gloomy hallway which led to a large arena.
“What am I seeing here?” Sarah whispered. She couldn’t make any sense of what was before her. “What is all this?”
Corona motioned for her to be quiet.
Rows of cushiony chair bits were lined in front and off to the side. In the center of the room, robotic arms tended undulating bundles moving overhead.
The friends advanced forward, looking upwards and trying to understand what appeared to them to be some kind of production assembly line.
In the staging area, the trio observed hooks slowly moving on an oval track in one long, continuous loop. Dangling from lines on the hooks, membranous bundles rocked back and forth with a faint swoosh, like waves gently advancing to the shoreline then receding only to press forward again. Hanging from each sack was a thicker cord which reached down to a spongy pad resting on a tray below. Tiny vessels projecting from the spongy structure sopped up precious nutrient-rich fluid from the platter. The pink, watery nourishment coursed upwards to be used by whatever was inside.
Corona motioned for them to stand back while she moved closer to get a better look at what was nestled inside the pulsating membranes.
When the bundles swung around to where she could observe them better, Corona gasped. “Oh… my… gosh,” she said. Realizing what it was, her hand went up to her mouth as if to stifle a response.
“What?” Sarah asked. “Corona…”
“What is it?” Stanley said. “Tell us.”
Corona ordered Stanley, “Take Sarah back against the wall and away from here.”
His eyes were on the track and he didn’t move. Stanley’s mind tried to register the bizarre procession above. He squinted a
nd stared, but nothing made sense.
“Stanley,” Corona said, “Take Sarah back against the wall and turn her away from this.” She pushed hard on his arm, knocking him off balance.
He turned and looked back at her with a questioning look. “What? What is it?”
Corona took hold of Sarah’s hand and placed it in Stanley’s.
Stanley instinctively closed his larger hand around hers, grasped it tightly and hung on.
Corona led them to where they’d come in and sat Sarah in a chair, positioning it so she was facing the wall. She sat Stanley next to Sarah and told him to keep her quiet.
Stanley nodded his head.
Corona went to where she’d been looking up at the track. As each bundle passed slowly in front of her, she could make out little ones in various stages of development. There were many of them nestled each in their own vein-lined membrane, gently rolling back and forth from the movement of the line. A light spray warmly moistened each bundle from above, bathing it in a sweet floral mist which flowed around the package. The fluid dripped onto a track below where it was recovered and reused.
Corona peered inside a membrane and was startled to see what she had suspected. The bundle held a developing In Situ, maturing rapidly for its parents.
The first group passing by was a collection of rapidly multiplying embryonic cells with a cord reaching down to a tray. As Corona watched closely, they developed into a more-defined shape with recognizable features. Colorful eyebands shined from their tiny heads. When they moved out of sight, further-developed In Situs glided by, taking cord nourishment. These were followed by fully developed, ready to be harvested, little ones.
Corona could hear their baby cooings. Occasionally, she recognized some of the bundles were attempting to communicate with whomever could discern their thoughts. Corona kept her own thoughts veiled and closed off her ability to read theirs.
She was mesmerized by the assembly line process. In the background, robotic arms periodically pulled one of the bundles off of the line, cord and all, covered it, and placed it on a belt which led to an opening in the wall. When that happened, a small sigh was heard and a faint mist drifted up to the corner of the ceiling and out the building.
WATCHING CORONA: From Our Dimension to Yours Page 19
