The Gift of Volkeye

by Marque Strickland

  “And the other Mechs?”

  “Expanding this place, as it’s quite unfit for so many people at the moment. I figured it would be better to start them outside than indoors, waking everyone earlier than necessary…what’s in the box you’re holding?”

  “It’s for that little person right there!” Belch said smiling, looking past Zynathian at Lyn Sha.

  She came forward yawning with toothpaste at the corners of her mouth.

  “Hey, Belch,” Lyn kissed his green cheek, leaving an outline of toothpaste.

  “Hey, hon,” Belch said, returning the kiss. “Did the racket wake you?”

  She nodded, looking down at the box. “What’s in there?”

  “Happy birthday!” Belch said, handing her the box.

  “You remembered! Life has been so crazy lately that everyone else forgot!” Lyn gave Asha an evil glare.

  Asha’s horrific expression was that of one who knew themselves to be unmistakably guilty. “I’m so sorry, Lynnie. I promise I’ll make it up to you,” Asha said.

  “‘The Magnificently Brilliant, Green-eyed Queen of the Library’ accepts your apology,” Lyn said mercifully kissing Asha on the mouth. Asha smiled, and Lyn Sha turned to Sing.

  “Sing Tzi Yi, since you just became my sister yesterday, you’re off the hook this time,” she said sternly. “But you better remember next year!”

  “I promise. Happy belated birthday,” Sing replied blowing her a kiss. “Let’s see what’s in the box!”

  “Something really heavy. I hope it’s what I think it is!” Lyn said, smiling at Belch, running to the kitchen table. “It is! Hooray!” she cheered as she took a knife and cut herself a huge hunk of chocolate cake.

  “No, Lyn, you’re going to spoil your breakfast!” Asha yelled.

  “I don’t care, it’s my birthday,” she said, proceeding to make her face a sticky mess.

  Zynathian was pleased. “Thanks, Belch. I think she really needed that.”

  Belch replied with a toothy grin. “I never forget any of the kid’s birthdays. It just happens to be a rarity that they celebrate them down here, so I had to take advantage after learning that they had come down.”

  “Lynnie…no!” Asha said.

  “It’s okay, Asha. She’ll work it off later today, believe me.” Zynathian smirked.

  “You keep hinting at that! But I don’t know what that is yet, so if you’re not going to tell me, would you please quit teasing me, Zynnie! You’re driving me nuts!”

  “Yes, you seemed to skip over something while we were talking. Khyeryn and Lyn Sha…what did you do to them?” Belch asked, dragging Zynathian away from eavesdroppers.

  Zynathian leaned down and whispered in his ear.

  “Aaaaah, very interesting. You don’t mind me tagging along do you? I should like to see that.”

  Zynathian nodded then looked to Sing and Asha. “Wake the others, it’s time to go.”

  3

  The day was still and bitterly cold. Except for Maugrimm, all felt relieved to be leaving the frigid conditions for awhile. Upon exiting the Igloo, they were greeted by one of Zynathian’s Mechanicals.

  “My magnificent, brilliant master of all creation and knowledge, Doctor Volkeye,” a four-foot tall, frost-covered person said, addressing Zynathian in a monotone voice.

  Asha rolled her eyes. “You ego-maniacal old fart, did you teach him that?” She was embarrassed at his arrogance in front of their newest family member. Sing, indeed, was quite amused by it.

  “Yes, I did that this morning…just goofing off a bit.” He shrugged, apologizing.

  “The satellite has been completed to your exact standards, Sir,” the Mechanical said, motioning to a massive concave structure on the roof of the Igloo.

  Twenty other Mechs of the same model with varying colours stood surrounding the new satellite. Dozens more were off in different spots, hammering, nailing, and sealing large blocks of debris and a strange metal substance together—the beginnings of the Igloo’s massive expansion.

  “Excellent job, Fritz. We’re on our way out, so you have my permission to begin indoors now. In addition to my orders, Belch, here, may need some type of assistance. Whether it be here or his restaurant, I want you to heed his orders,” Zynathian said.

  “With pleasure, Sir,” Fritz responded, looking to Belch. “While inside, I took the liberty of examining your pod there.” He pointed to the vessel (a very small version of Phyllamon’s that had recently exploded). “…It’s on its last breath, sir. I can repair it if you like.”

  “Yes please,” said Zynathian, rolling his eyes at Belch. Belch was so proud that he never liked to ask anyone for help.

  “If the weather stays calm like this, Sir, the project should be complete in seven to fourteen days,” Fritz explained, joining the other Mechs about their business.

  “How many times have I told you to let me fix that thing? …Or at least allow me to get you a new one? What if it were to die while you were in the middle of nowhere, Belch?”

  “We are in the middle of nowhere!”

  “And that makes you an even bigger buffoon! I’m building you a new one and that’s final! In the meantime we’ll leave Teshunua’s vessel here for you to use!”

  “Fine,” Belch snapped, but he was unable to hold back a smile.

  Zynathian gave him a slap on the shoulder. “There he is,” he said, speaking of a large egg shaped craft slowly coming from behind the Igloo.

  The main body of the vessel was blacker than a starless night, but the separate, oval compartments on its sides and roof, of which there were several, were bright, shiny silver. Teshunua was piloting at the moment, and Bahzee stood behind him, hands rubbing his shoulders. They were all smiles.

  “Look at the grins on them two!” Maugrimm laughed, observing them through the windshield. “Guess they had a good night’s sleep!”

  “Oh, hush.” Asha blushed, being quite happy for her daughter.

  Teshunua brought the ship to a halt, hovering. The entrance shield slid upwards, and a stairway slowly protruded from within, fixing itself firmly in the snow. Toodles hopped down from Asha’s arms and quickly made his way up the steps. Jix followed, along with the rest of them. Maugrimm stayed behind a moment to bid his precious Igloo a farewell.

  Watching the Mechs carry equipment back and forth, speaking in technical dialogue that he didn’t comprehend, Maugrimm let out a deep sigh and slung a heavy square backpack over his shoulder, making his way onto the ship. Everyone was sitting, ready for departure. Zynathian had taken the pilot’s seat.

  “All right then, Mawg?” he asked, sympathizing with his friend.

  “Fine,” Maugrimm, replied solemnly, looking to Lyn Sha. “Me didn’t forget, Lynnie.” He pulled off his brown canvas pack.

  The bag was unusually square, and stretched to its capacity, containing something heavy and wide. “Happy belated birthday, Lyn,” he said, revealing its contents.

  Lyn Sha gasped as Maugrimm handed her a leather-bound omnibus version of her favourite series of Wrinklegus PoisonTongue stories.

  “‘The Legend of Orchis and the Five Sisters’!” she read aloud, admiring the gold plated lettering of the title. “Thank you!”

  With some effort, Lyn put the massive book aside and hugged Maugrimm. He grinned.

  “Me thought it better to give it to ya’ this morning, b’cuz ya wudda’ been up reading all night if me let ya’ have it yesterday.”

  Everyone who hadn’t already wished Lyn a happy birthday, did so, smiling with guilt. Sing glared enviously at Lyn’s book.

  “Don’t worry, I’ll let you read it when I’m done, Sing,” Lyn said, opening the book with delight.

  Zynathian turned around, looking at Teshunua. “So kiddo, you explore a bit more often than I do...where are we headed?” he asked.

  Teshunua thought hard for a moment. “I take it you want somewhere desolate?”

  Zynathian nodded.

  “Go north a bit, then head far west. T
here’s a vast open area with a lake, huge rocks, and little islands as far as the eye can see.”

  Zynathian set the vessel in motion, and yelled over his shoulder. “Go in back and unpack your hover, Teshunua. We’re going to leave it with Belch since he has no mode of transportation at the moment.

  “Aw, man, I like my hover!” He pouted.

  A high pitched voice mocked him. “Ooooh no, I’m going to miss my hovercar, even though I’m so spoiled I’m sure that Uncle Zynnie is going to have a new one for me in the next two days at most!”

  Teshunua turned to Maugrimm’s cart of floating luggage, snatching away the blanket that was covering the plants. “Watch it, punk!” Teshunua said, scolding Khyetarah.

  “You think I’ve spoiled him a bit, Khyetarah?” Zynathian yelled back.

  “Definitely!”

  “Ah, shut up you two,” Teshunua blushed, heading to the rear of the ship to unpack the vehicle. Bahzee unclipped her safety straps, grasped his hand and followed.

  “Uh…yeah, I missed you too!” Khyetarah Vyx Mune frowned, being insulted that he didn’t even get a hug after not having seen his friend for six months.

  “I’ll give you some attention later, you big wuss! Man, you’re worse than Jix.”

  Jix flew to Teshunua and swatted him in the head with a forepaw, telling him he wanted to be left out of the conversation. Everyone burst into laughter.

  The laughter led to yawns, and those later led to snores. Soon all except for Zynathian, Tesh, and Bahzee were fast asleep. They were tired, having gotten a very early start.

  After unpacking the hover, the young lovers had taken a hidden seat at the rear. Exhausted from the happy end of the previous day, they had been far too worn out for their own desire to take precedence over rest. So now they took up where they left off.

  Extremely young, but mature by circumstance, the two felt no shame in their acts. They now lay in an innocent but slightly sexual cuddle. Just as the evening before, their eyes met, and each one’s nose tickled the others. This time there were no intrusive eyes to barricade their emotions, handcuffing the moment they had waited over two years to experience. Each of their hearts leapt out into a foreign land, explored by many before them. For the next two hours their lips were locked in a tight embrace, only loosening occasionally to tell one another three words.

  4

  Zynathian spotted a small river and followed it, assuming that it would lead to a larger body of water. Noticing that Tesh and Baz had gone missing, he flew slowly to give them as much time alone as he could.

  The trees swayed as he passed over, dancing with several flocks of birds taking flight as he disturbed their repose. At last, Zynathian came to the lake Teshunua mentioned.

  Before him was a vast open area of rock with a lake at its center. There were gigantic boulders scattered sporadically about and also miniature islands jutting from the depths of the lake. About one hundred feet of rock surrounded all sides of the lake before long unkempt blades of grass sprouted abruptly from the earth, stretching for what seemed to be an eternity.

  Curious, as he had never ventured to these parts, Zynathian turned on his Arhyz detector. A green light started flashing rapidly on the control board.

  Ah hah! he thought, hovering his shuttle over the coordinates of the buried treasure. It was a large amount, comprised of one big stone and would probably fill at least ten rock bins on the ship.

  He hit the switch, and a blue laser shot into the ground, followed by an explosion. The bottom hatch opened, and the Arhyz shot from the earth. Lasers diced the rock before entering the bins. The combination of noise and turbulence the ship was experiencing made such a racket that everyone was startled out of their sleep.

  “Whoa, did we hit something?” Belch asked.

  “What the bloody hell’s goin’ on, mate?” Maugrimm yelled up front to Zynathian.

  Lyn Sha and Sing held fast to one another. The plants were also awake and raising hell.

  What’s happening? Bahzee thought, clinging to Teshunua, as she watched her mother run to the front of the ship.

  Asha found Zynathian in the pilot’s seat laughing hysterically. “Sorry, I didn’t wake anyone, did I?” He smirked, realizing they must have assumed the worst. Infuriated, Asha gave him a hard right in his shoulder.

  “Owww, woman, that hurt!”

  “You bastard!” she said, scolding him, relieved they weren’t all about to die. Zynathian was still rubbing his shoulder, frowning at her. She kissed him apologetically. “Old man, what the hell are you doing?”

  He grabbed Asha’s hand leading her to the rear.

  “Come, I’ll show you,” he said. “Sorry to disturb everyone,” Zynathian apologized, looking mostly at Bahzee and Teshunua. “You all have never seen my machine work...allow me.”

  They followed him and were surprised that the, once empty shatterproof glass bins on the right side were now filled to the brim with Arhyz rocks, save for the ten opposite them and the last on this side, which had about a foot of empty space. The multicoloured blocks and pebbles glistened.

  “Oh my goodness, so this is how you get it,” Asha said.

  The others shook their heads, thinking of all the people who died everyday from years of inhaling the toxins of the Arhyz mines. Here Zynathian was, yanking it out of the ground with no effort whatsoever!

  “Dad…” Khyeryn began.

  “…what are we going to do with it? We don’t need any more money,” Lyn Sha finished.

  “Exactly. I’ve got something planned that we can discuss later,” Zynathian said, thinking on a scheme that he had been contemplating for some time. “However, there are other things to attend to at the moment.”

  He went back to the pilot’s seat and landed the ship about ten feet from the hole he made. Then they exited the ship. Each of them immediately stripped off many layers, as it was much warmer here—a nice day of fifty degrees.

  Zynathian held a pack of several pairs of binoculars with a design similar to the one he used for Teshunua’s camera. He observed the sun peeking shyly around its obstacles, hiding then reappearing as the clouds moved rapidly westward in the sky. The family walked about, examining the beauty of the area.

  Zynathian caught Lyn Sha standing over the vertical cave that the laser had created.

  “Lynnie, you get away from there, now,” he bellowed. “It’s about one hundred feet deep, and you’ll get a good many cuts and bruises if you fall!”

  “Get cuts and bruises? I think it more than likely that she could get dead!” a terrified Asha said as Lyn ran to them, away from danger.

  Zynathian rolled his eyes at Asha. “Woman, have you no faith in me? No, she would not die. By now, she would instinctively know how to land.”

  Lyn caught the tail end of the conversation and wondered if they were talking about her.

  What? Asha’s eyes said, clueless as to what he was talking about. They met the others near an enormous boulder that stood many times Maugrimm’s size.

  “Okay, everyone, it’s time,” Zynathian said. “Please save your questions until the demonstration is completed. Khyeryn and Lyn Sha, come here.”

  They walked over.

  “Starting from here, I want you two to race one another along this stream,” Zynathian said, pointing to the little miniature river connected to the lake.

  “For how long?” Lyn Sha asked.

  “As far as you must. However, one of you will know when to stop and just watch.”

  Zynathian handed everyone a pair of binoculars. Lyn and Khye smiled and got ready. Both of their stomachs were queasy, knowing the one of them was about to do something incredible. The others paced and bounced in place, anticipating an event at least as mind boggling as Bahzee.

  “On your mark…get set…go!”

  “Whoa, shit!” Khyeryn said, stopping after about ten paces, observing the blur of colour that sped through the grass, leaving a trail of dirt and trampled grass behind her. That was all he could make out
. The others were cheering.

  “Oh, my goodness!”

  “Look at ‘er go!”

  “Whoa, whoa, whoa!”

  Khyeryn ran to his father and dug out the last pair of binoculars from his pack. Even as meticulously designed as they were, the binoculars gave up trying to focus, as they couldn’t keep up with Lyn Sha’s speed. All they could make out was her black coat and red ribbon tied to her ponytail. Her legs, however, were merely a blur of colour splashed across a landscaped canvas.

  Meanwhile, Lyn glanced down at her legs, determining whether or not she was actually flying! Moving so fast that she couldn’t even feel her feet touch the ground, she was surprised at how rapidly her environment changed with each passing moment. Now the stream had become a river with a much faster current and was at least thirty feet wide. She took the diagonal jump across, somehow knowing that she was capable. It was an effortless gesture, and Lyn Sha’s ability mocked Mother Nature’s grasp as she defied gravity once again by plunging a bit less than seventy feet ahead, to the other side of the waterfall where the river dropped off. She landed, slowing to a jog and then stopped.

  Warm and sweaty, Lyn walked a few feet from the edge of the waterfall, feeling the mist of the raging water land upon her face. Her chest heaved, gasping for a breath of understanding, as she couldn’t believe what she’d done.

  I can fly! she thought.

  Blocking the sun out with her hand, she looked into the distance for the family and became frightened when she could see none. Knowing that she couldn’t have been running for more than thirty seconds, Lyn was baffled that she’d gotten so far away that the others didn’t even appear as little black dots in the distance.

  (They’d lost sight of her as well, even with the binoculars. Zynathian cursed at himself for not defining a certain distance for Lyn Sha. He only hoped that she hadn’t attempted the waterfall he spotted earlier, over a dozen miles away!)

  Looking down at the drop beneath her, Lyn was nervous about trying to go back over the waterfall, wondering if she’d only been able to do it because of the amount of speed she’d built up. Thinking of a way to test her limits, she concentrated and crouched down. Then with every ounce of strength she had, Lyn Sha gave a vertical leap, clearing a massive distance. However, until she was in the air, she hadn’t thought of how well she could land from a height of well over a hundred feet! Lyn Sha howled in terror until she touched down, unharmed.