by Peter Ponzo
CHAPTER 3
Man on Black Mountain
The man was old, very old. He sat crosslegged on a large smooth rock, hands placed carefully on his knees, palms up. His face was raised to the hot white suns, his eyes were closed. The large mountain cat lay by his side, purring. The old man opened his eyes and gazed down at the cat.
"Yes, my pet. Patience." He man closed his eyes and continued to face the sky, his mouth moving without words, his hands twitching on his knees. After a few minutes he rose wearily. His face, like old tanned leather, carried the scars of more than a hundred years. A once-white robe hung loosely about his thin, almost emaciated body. His feet were bare and his white hair rose in a cloud about his head in the highsuns breeze.
"Come, my pet." The great cat rose, stretched and followed him into the cave. When they reappeared the old man was carrying a long grey staff. He held it above his head and the breeze increased in intensity to a strong wind. The old man swung the grey staff in a circle about his head. The wind howled. The old man smiled. The cat whimpered and rubbed against his leg. Together they walked slowly down the gentle grassy slope to the plain below. The wind subsided, now only a warm breeze. As they walked across the plain another large mountain cat joined them, then another.
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Lori was worried. Gry had been gone for nearly a week. Kevn had assured her that Gry could take care of himself. Somehow she felt that Kevn didn't believe that himself; his voice had seemed distant, hollow. She had asked to speak to TOM, and Kevn had opened a comlink to K-47. The android repeated what he had reported earlier: Gry had driven quickly across the barrens. TOM had followed him on the televiewer until the red skooter was no longer visible. The weather was very accommodating and there would be no severe storms. The transworld vessel had various longrange sensors. If Gry were in any trouble he, TOM, would know it. Somehow, Lori felt that TOM didn't really believe that either.
"Why do you lie to her?" LIZ had asked the android. "You know that our sensors are ineffective at this range."
"What would you have me say?" answered TOM.
"Well ... there was no need to lie," said LIZ.
"Do you think that being absolutely truthful is always the best course of action? Do you think that anything would be achieved were I to answer that I had no idea of Gry's condition?"
LIZ was surprised and dismayed at TOM's attitude. The lights danced on the command console.
"LIZ," said TOM, noting her displeasure, "you do not understand human nature. If knowing the truth will enable them to take a wiser course, then they wish to know the truth. If they are at the whim of fate and cannot act on the truth then they wish only to be assured that the future holds no threat."
The lights flickered erratically on the console then dimmed.
TOM sat down at the console, but LIZ was quiet.
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Lori had gone to Gravic for help. The First Citizen was pleased to see her. She was a beautiful lady who reminded him very much of his late wife, Debra. Gravic was aware of Gry's departure and they spoke at great length of the possibilities. Gry might have had a problem with the skooter; these vehicles were, after all, designed for operation within the Dome. Perhaps Gry could not find the boy.
"You know Gry," said Gravic. "He wouldn't leave the Dolom Mountains until he had turned over every rock, looked behind every tree."
She finished the warm brandy that Gravic had poured and rose to leave.
"Please, do not worry. Gry has been through the battles of C-phon2. Getting back to the Dome over a few kilometers of dusty plains will be little challenge for him." Lori left feeling that Gravic didn't himself believe what he had said.
Gravic walked to the window and gazed out onto the Barrens. His hair had thinned and greyed considerably in the last two years and he looked very tired. Soon he would step down as First Citizen; perhaps he should have done that earlier. He looked forward to retirement. There were so many things he had been unable to do while holding the most senior post in the Dome; things he had put off doing. He had always dreamed of writing, stories of the old Earth. Debra had encouraged him but he was always too busy. "One of these days," he would say. "Wait until I retire." He looked at the sky and the distant mountains. There was still time - he was reasonably healthy, there was still time.
Where was Gry?
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Gry looked at the black youth sleeping peacefully, curled on the dirt floor of the hut. Did he know what was about to happen? Did he understand Kriss' threat to overtake the Dome? What attachment, if any, had the boy to the Dome community? It was clear that Runr had not been happy for some time. Perhaps he dreamed only of living his wild life in the Dolom Mountains.
There was some commotion outside. Although Gry and Runr were not tied, there had been two guards sitting at the door, continuously. Gry walked to the door and peered out. Men were running across the clearing, shouting. In pursuit were several large cats. One of the men was lying still, bleeding. The guards by the door stood and held their spears, shaking, shouting. The cats turned abruptly and headed toward the hut which held the prisoners. The guards shouted more loudly as they approached, then ran for their lives, dropping their spears and crying in alarm. Gry backed away from the door and slipped under a table. Runr had awakened and was standing by the door.
"Runr, get in here!" shouted Gry. The boy didn't listen. Instead he left the hut and stood, waving. Gry groaned, slid out from under the table and tried to pull the boy inside the hut, but it was too late. The nearest cat leaped into the air and pounced on the boy. They rolled on the ground, the cat growling and the boy - he was growling too. They seemed almost to be playing. The boy was laughing, climbing onto the back of the huge cat. Gry's jaw dropped.
"Gry, come!" shouted Runr. "Follow the cats!"
Gry hesitated only until he saw a group of men coming from the direction of Kriss' hut, brandishing large spears - then he ran after the boy. The cats vanished as quickly as they had appeared. The men with spears stood for a moment at the edge of the jungle.
"Go after them!" shouted Grid. The men stood, looked into the shadows, then at each other and shook their heads. They slowly backed away from the bush, turned and walked more and more quickly to their respective huts, frightened. Grid raised his spear above his head, howled and ran into the jungle. The wind increased, tossing great clouds of dirt about the clearing, then increased again. Soon it was a near hurricane. Three huts shattered. The sky darkened and a bolt of lightning leaped in a jagged arc from within the jungle to the scudding clouds above.
Kriss appeared at the door of his hut. He stared in awe at the great arcs of lightning, cowered then disappeared again. No other of his children were anywhere in sight - and he never saw Grid again.
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Gry was very uncomfortable sitting with the great cat in the cave, waiting patiently for Runr to return. The sky had cleared and was almost white. The cats, the storm - it was surely a miracle, but now they must get to the Dome, warn the citizens. Runr walked in with a small pig over his shoulder. The cat rose and purred and Gry shrank against the cold wall. Runr growled, grunted and stared at Gry, smiling. Gry shrugged.
"We eat!" said the boy, throwing the animal to the ground.
"Raw?" asked Gry.
"We do not have a fire," said the boy.
Gry shrugged again. Was he hungry enough to eat raw pig? Runr and the cat began to tear the animal into pieces. Gry was handed a piece of meat, dripping bright crimson. He took it gingerly and licked it. "It's not greenstew," he said. Runr grunted.
After their meal the boy lay down.
"Hey! You can't sleep now!" cried Gry, wiping the blood from his mouth. "We have to ... uh, get to the Dome - warn them."
But the boy was asleep.
