The strange cat-boy who called himself a Trilby still talked with the other boy, Jurn. Mr. Malachi stood over them, nodding from time to time. They had come in from the Palace an hour ago, wet and covered in mud. Emory couldn’t hear what they were saying, but each face looked serious.
He abandoned his peas and scooted his chair closer to catch their words.
“Everyone in town always boils and filters water before they drink it, and somehow that must remove the effects from the Vibrance,” Mr. Malachi said.
“It’s a good thing,” Jurn replied. “Otherwise, the children would have died, right?”
Mr. Malachi pursed his lips. “We have to do something about the water supply. I’m wondering if the water has been diverted through a tunnel you didn’t see, or perhaps it hollowed out a stream farther below. Either way, we will have to go in and explore again.”
The cat-boy’s ears swayed when he nodded. “You’ll have to brace up the ceiling, and it’ll be dangerous. Then there’s the larger area where the children collected the Vibrance. The ceiling could fall in and kill everyone above and below.”
Emory sighed. The dancers in the Palace would never leave. Whether the Palace crumbled or the Vibrance took its toll, they were all lost. And nothing anyone said or did could stop it. He laid his head down on the table, despite a sticky pool of spilled gravy.
A small, gloved hand rested on his shoulder.
“Emory, I’m Toby.” Toby’s large eyes were green like spring leaves, and fringed with thick, dark lashes. His small nose curved at the tip. Feline ears stuck out on top of his head, pink on the inside, and covered with short, dark fur on the outside.
Emory didn’t want to stare, but found it very hard to tear his eyes away from those ears. “How old are you?” He instantly wished he could take the question back. Maybe it wasn’t very polite.
But Toby’s mouth curved into a smile. “I’m fifteen. Mr. Malachi was telling me about your helicopter, and how you like machines and stuff. Maybe you would like to come live with me, at my house. We have a safe place, and people who will love and care for you, just like Mr. Malachi does.”
“Do you have books?” Emory asked.
“Oh yes. Thousands. Tens of thousands!”
Thousands of books! All the things I could learn!
“I want to, so very much. But what about Sonda?”
Toby bowed his head. “She’s welcome, but I don’t know…”
Mr. Malachi rested his hand on Emory’s shoulder. “Son, Toby has been telling me about a dangerous group of people in the area. If they came through this town they might take you away. I never should have let you study so much about machines.”
“Don’t blame yourself. You didn’t know about Leader.” Toby turned to Emory. “Leader has running cars and trucks. If he finds out about your skills, he would force you to work for him. With me, you’d be protected.”
“But Sonda... I don’t want to leave her.” Emory’s breaths came in ragged gasps and his chest heaved.
Mr. Malachi hugged him close. “I know son, I know. Don’t give up hope.”
###
Evening birds roosted in the tree at the entrance to the Palace, cooing and settling into their chosen beds. Emory watched them, wishing he could feel that content, just one more time. But after tonight, when he left Sonda, he would be leaving the tiny chance to have a piece of his family back again. His head throbbed. Could they stop the music, just for one night?
She slunk out of the door and almost walked past him. He reached out. “Sonda.” He couldn’t bring himself to touch her arm.
“Oh, hey. Simper went off somewhere, and then Mitts made me leave. Did you bring me some mems?” Her eyes held more confusion than ever.
His shoulders sagged. “No, Sonda. I just needed to tell you something. I’m going to a new home. I’m leaving and you might not see me again.”
She sighed, and the darkness of the city street seemed like daylight compared to the darkness hidden inside of her. “All right. Probably a good thing.”
“I gotta tell you something else, Sonda. The Palace isn’t safe. These guys said it might fall through the ground, at any time.” Emory wanted to fall on the ground and throw a tantrum like a little kid. But he stood up straight and looked Sonda in the eye. “You can come with me and find something better. Even if you don’t believe in yourself, I believe in you. I don’t want to lose you.”
Sonda giggled. “Oh Emory, you silly boy! Don’t you know I’m already lost?” She stumbled off down the street.
Emory watched her go. The sadness inside of him was no longer the kind a child would have. It was a dull ache, now, but one he must accept. In that moment, he had grown up. “Goodbye, Sonda,” he whispered.
###
Sunday. Until Toby had first ventured from the cavern three years ago, the day had been an ordinary part of the week, where computers told of date and time. No day or night existed, seasons never changed. Now Toby looked forward to Sundays as time to sit before his Father, to worship Him and listen for His voice.
Mr. Malachi stood at an intricately carved pulpit, reading from a worn Bible.
I’m so glad we came. It’s wonderful to hear the word of God from another voice, spoken from another heart. Toby nudged Jurn, whose eyes drooped.
A slight tremor shook the ground under his feet. Did I imagine that? Toby glanced at the children’s faces surrounding him. All eyes were wide and staring, probably wondering the same thing.
Another quake, this time stronger. Olders stood and Mr. Malachi closed the Bible. “Lord, whatever is going on, keep us safe. And give us the strength and courage to help.”
Someone pounded on the huge entrance door. Serephina, who sat in the back row, ran to answer it.
Stance stood in the doorway. His clothes and hair were covered in white dust, and blood trickled down his forehead. “The Palace... it’s falling.” He staggered inside and collapsed.
Miss Jasmine knelt by his side. “Serephina, get the supplies.” She looked up at Mr. Malachi. “You’d better see what happened.”
Mr. Malachi pointed at a few of the older men. “You all come with me.”
Toby grabbed Jurn’s shoulder. “We’re coming too.”
Mr. Malachi nodded and they followed him out the door.
Clouds of dust met them in the street. Dazed adults and children leaned against the church building. Some cradled broken or bleeding limbs, seemingly oblivious to their injuries. They all stared at where the Palace stood.
Used to stand. The walls had buckled forward, and the tree Toby had used for his escape was toppled into the yard. Piles of brick, concrete and broken boards covered the street where the line of waiting family members usually stood.
The roof lay in broken pieces across the ground. The whole thing must have collapsed through the cavern, just like I thought. Toby strained to see through the choking white fog.
Mr. Malachi ran past him, waving his hammer. “Come on, we have to try to help.”
Toby’s mind snapped back into focus. “Be careful.” He followed Mr. Malachi. “I don’t know how far the cavern reaches and we could be in danger too.”
He pulled his shirt up over his nose and began to pick his way over the rubble where the front door used to be. Where do I even begin? To find anyone seemed impossible.
A woman came by him, the green fabric of her dress showing through the white dust. “Not many in there,” she said. “Simper sent most of us out. He was angry. He said we were all spies. The worker kids, too.” She reached down and picked up a chunk of concrete. “Oh, we’ll never get it back.” she wailed. “The dancing. Our forgetfulness!”
Toby ran over to Mr. Malachi and tugged at his sleeve. “Did you hear that? Simper cleared most of the building. Most of the people probably escaped!”
Mr. Malachi’s eyes shone. “Oh, praise the Lord! Such good news!”
“Toby, Mr. Malachi. Over here!” Jurn shouted.
They hurried over. Jurn pointed to
a hill in the rubble, where an arm, bloodied and bruised, stuck out of the rubble.
“That’s where Simper’s office used to be.” A lump formed in Toby’s throat. He took the other side of a board Jurn held and together they lifted it off.
They uncovered the desk they had seen the day before, battered but still standing. They continued to clear the rubble around the arm until it’s owner was freed.
“Mitts.” Jurn bent down and listened to his chest. “His heart’s still beating. Let’s get him to the church.”
Mr. Malachi called to his helpers and they ran over. After fashioning a stretcher from a broken door, they rolled the big man’s body on it and took him off.
A small figure stood by the church. Toby went back over to Emory.
Tears flowed down the boy’s cheeks, creating white, muddy streaks. “Sonda... where is she?”
“I don’t know.” Toby put his arm around the boy’s shoulders. “A lady said almost everyone got out... but I haven’t seen her.”
“If she’s safe, why doesn’t she come find me?” Emory peered up at him. “She always came before.”
“I’m sorry.” Toby could think of nothing else to say.
###
After several hours of tending to the wounded, Toby, Jurn, Emory and Mr. Malachi headed out to the roamer. Jurn pulled a device the size and shape of a deck of cards out of his pocket and pressed the shiny surface. The roamer shimmered into view.
“Wow,” Mr. Malachi and Emory said together.
“Where did Marabella go to, anyway?” Toby looked around.
“Right here, Cat kid.” Marabella stepped from behind a tree. “Way too much huggin’ and stuff going on in there.” She eyed Mr. Malachi warily.
“You missed all the action.” Toby gestured back towards the town, where a dusty haze still hung over the tree line.
“I’ve had enough to last me for awhile.” Marabella pulled out her saw and polished the blade with her grubby shirt sleeve.
“I was worried you went off to join up with Leader,” said Jurn.
“Yeah, I thought about it, but I needed a new bandage.” Marabella waved her hand, a slight smile tugging at the corner of her lips.
A huge weight slid off Toby’s shoulders. The grambles’ location was still safe, for now. “Welcome back. We’re going to have an extra passenger with us. Marabella, this is Emory.”
“H’ya, Emory.”
The boy gave a shy smile. “Hi.”
Toby opened the side panel, and Jurn helped the younger boy climb in. Marabella followed.
Mr. Malachi stood to the side, an amazed grin covering his face. “This thing’s from outer space, you say?”
“You wouldn’t believe the story if I told you.” Toby shook the giant man’s hand. “We’ll be back to check on you, and bring tools. Gramble Horace might have a suggestion for how to fix your water situation.”
Mr. Malachi bowed his head. “I wish I could accept, Toby, but if this Leader person comes through, we can’t have an influx of supplies we are unable to explain. Please do send your prayers, though, especially for the poor souls from the Palace. And for Simper.”
“Do you think they’ll ever find him?” Toby looked back towards the town.
“I don’t know. We’ll try our best, but if he was down in the mem-hoard it’s going to take more resources and manpower than we have to recover his body.”
“There has got to be more I can do. You have all these people to take care of.” Toby wanted to scream in frustration. Is this really just another dead end?
“You have done more than you could ever know.” Mr. Malachi enveloped him in a bear hug that nearly lifted him off the ground. “Our next step is to see if we can reroute the flow. We’ll be busy taking care of the wounded folks for a while, anyways.” He released his hold and patted Toby on the head.
Toby could feel Marabella’s smirk behind him, but he hugged Mr. Malachi back. “I can’t make the decision alone, but I’ll be back.”
Mr. Malachi held up his hand. “Toby, we’ve already had this discussion.”
Toby stared into the man’s impossibly dark eyes. “It’s time for me to stop living in fear. I was called to help people. My family is more than who lives in my home. Every person on this planet is my brother or sister, and that includes the souls in this city. We’ll figure it out, and then I will return.”
Mr. Malachi nodded slowly. “Go with God, Toby.”
Jurn and Marabella led Emory up into the roamer and helped him get settled.
Toby climbed aboard and flipped down the viewer. He spun around. “Everyone ready to go home?”
“Wait!” Emory stood up and pointed at the screen.
A very thin, very white girl ran toward the ship. “Emory! Emory!” she called.
“Sonda!” Emory leaned against the roamer’s side panel. “Toby, let me out. She’s alive!”
Toby opened the door and the boy almost fell out of the ship in his haste to reach his sister.
“Sonda, please don’t make me leave you behind.”
“Oh Emory, the walls were cracking!” Sonda gasped. “Simper made the music stop, and we all had to leave. I fell asleep in the ally. Serephina found me and told me you where out here.”
Emory grabbed her thin hands in his own. “Please come with me. I’m going to a place that’s clean and safe and beautiful, with lots of friends.” He turned to Toby, who had followed him out. “She can come too, can’t she?”
Toby stared back into the roamer. “It’ll be a tight squeeze, but we can make room. Of course she can come.” Sonda might have a rough time getting over the Vibrance, but he was sure Gramble Edward could help the girl.
Emory pulled her into the ship and showed her his seat. “You can sit here, I’ll just stand.”
“Okay.” Sonda looked around in wonder.
Toby sat back in the pilot’s seat. What have I gotten myself into? But every time he listened to Father’s voice, only good came of his obedience.
He looked back at Emory. “Are we ready now?”
“Yes, Sir!” Emory shouted.
Toby pulled down the viewer screen once more.
Mr. Malachi stood outside, his hands raised high in the air. Tears streamed down his cheeks while he shouted, through the biggest smile Toby had ever seen. “Never give up hope!”
If someone close to you struggles with addiction, if you are dealing with it personally, or if you want to know more about God, you can call Focus on the Family at
1-800-A-FAMILY to talk to a trained counselor.
If you have any questions about the subjects in this book, please e-mail the author at [email protected].
About the Author
Angela Castillo’s first story, written at the
age of 8, was a tale about two children who
climbed a rainbow with gum stuck to
their shoes. Sadly, this story was lost to
humanity but several of her short stories,
poems and articles have been published
in magazines and online. This is her third
book about Toby. You can find out
more about the “Toby the Trilby” series at www.tobythetrilby.weebly.com,
or “like”
www.facebook.com/tobythe trilby.
The Toby the Trilby Trilogy Boxed Set Page 18
