the Runner

by Peter Ponzo

CHAPTER 2

  The Africans

  The Africans led Runr through the forest, to the foot of the mountain range then to a cave which appeared to enter the side of a dormant volcano. They all entered and walked down a steep incline. The way was lit by small lights on the walls which glowed blue as the troupe approached then went dark again after they had passed. In the distance, Runr could see a reddish glow which grew larger as they approached; it was an opening. When they had entered Runr found himself standing on a rocky ledge looking down onto a village at the bottom of a canyon. There were perhaps a hundred small hemispherical buildings with connecting pathways. The pathways were filled with people, Africans, tall and black with flowing white robes. The walls were made of a curious red rock. The sky overhead was clear and the sun made the entire canyon glow as though it were red hot.

  From the ledge Runr followed the tall Africans down narrow stairs to the floor of the canyon. They chattered among themselves for a moment then one stepped toward Runr and spoke:

  "I am Cayla. You shall follow me."

  Runr nodded and followed. The Africans in the pathways stopped and stared at Runr. Several bowed and some sang in a low wail. Cayla entered a building covered in elaborate paintings of red and yellow animals and black people and a dark blue sky with white stars and what looked like a pale blue space ship. Runr stopped to stare, but Cayla beckoned and he followed. It was dark inside the building, except for a small fire which flickered in a stone bowl. At the end of the room sat a man. Cayla bowed and continued toward the seated man, still bowing. Runr followed, bowing his head but looking intently at the man.

  The man was very old. His hair was thin and hung in white strands to his shoulders, his face was deeply creased and his bony hands stuck out from his clean white robe. With his head buried in his chest, he appeared to be sleeping. Cayla waited but the old man did not move. Cayla whispered something which Runr could not understand and the old man stirred. Cayla whispered more loudly and the old man looked up. The old man touched something by the side of his seat, the room brightened and he leaned forward. Cayla was talking and pointing to Runr who stood straight and tall, his curls falling randomly about his shoulders, his green eyes glowing. The old man rose and walked slowly to the boy, stroked the boy's hair, peered carefully into his eyes. Cayla was still talking but stopped immediately as the old man raised his hand for silence. The old man leaned forward and smiled. He was toothless but his smile was friendly. Then he spoke to Runr.

  "Afria. Shall you be Afria?"

  "Yes, I am from the planet Afria," answered Runr.

  "And the stone that you carry. Shall you speak to the stone?"

  Runr held out his stone and it gleamed and flashed blue. The old man stepped back. He waved at Cayla and the tall African left. The old man walked back to his chair, sat down and indicated that Runr should sit by his feet. Runr sat by the old man's feet, clutching his stone and looking up into his face.

  "What shall we call you?" asked the old man.

  "My name is Runr. What do they call you?"

  The old man laughed, a choking, coughing, wheezing laugh.

  "You shall call me Fathom, the old one," he said gently placing his hand on the boy's head. "Where shall the Afrians be ... now?"

  "I do not know. I was taken from a planet. I grew up on that planet. I cannot remember my parents. I think they must have come from the planet Afria. I have never seen an Afrian."

  The old man pointed to a far wall. "Go to that wall and tell me what you shall see."

  Runr jumped up and walked to the wall. "I see a painting on this wall. It shows a great space ship beside a great mountain. There are people walking ... they are black Africans. Here ... this person is Afrian! See the hair? See his eyes? There! Another Afrian! They are holding stones - like my stone. The stones are blue!" Runr looked back at the old man.

  "Come. We shall tell you a story."

  Runr ran to Fathom and sat at his feet looking intently at the old, creased but kindly face.

  "Many years ago, more than two hundred years ago, a space ship left this place, left Africa for another planet, Afria. That space ship carried our hopes for the future. Those who left promised to return one day and bring us a miracle. This miracle shall lead us from misery to happiness, from poverty of the soul to riches of the heart. Our people sang songs of those few who left and passed these songs and stories on to their children." Fathom stroked his thin hair.

  "I was told the story of the miracle which shall save our people, when I was a young boy. Then, when I was your age, a great space ship came out of the sky and landed by our mountain. We all rejoiced and sang the old songs. But we were afraid. The black people of the space ship were different. They had hair like yours ... Runr." The old man stroked Runr's hair.

  "They had green eyes, like yours. But soon we saw that they were our people and we again rejoiced and asked for the miracle which shall be ours according to the promise. The visitors, the Afrians, they gave us the stones, many stones, and they stayed for many months teaching us the ways of the stone, but we did not learn. They taught us to sing to the stones, to talk to the stones, but we did not learn. One day the Afrians left ... and we did not learn the ways of the miracle stone."

  Runr waited for Fathom to continue but the old man was quiet. Tears ran down his cheek.

  "Fathom? Was there a miracle?"

  The old man sighed, then continued. "Yes, there was a miracle. The rains came and our valley grew green and the waters flowed clear. Birds appeared ... and animals in the forest."

  "Fathom? Why do you cry? It is a miracle - they left a miracle, did they not?"

  "Yes Runr, they left us a miracle ... and they left us three of their children which shall be ours to raise. These children shall continue the ways of the stone."

  "There are Afrians here?" shouted Runr, jumping to his feet.

  The old man rose wearily and beckoned to Runr. The boy followed the old man out of the building and down a path. The Africans bowed and left the narrow pathway to let them pass. Soon they came to the wall of the canyon. It rose hundreds of meters, vertically, opening to a bright blue sky. At the base of the wall was a small opening. In the opening were three graves, and the gravestones flickered with a blue light as Runr approached.

  "The Afrian children, they are all dead?" asked Runr.

  "Yes ... all dead," answered the old man.

  "But how did they die? Why did they -"

  "We wanted more, we were greedy, we had waited so long. A green valley with sweet berries in the forest and bubbling brooks which ran clear and blue, and mushrooms and animals and ... and yet, we wanted more. Our people demanded more. The children, they were only children. They did not understand. Our people insisted - and - and -"

  "Did you kill the children, Fathom? Is that what happened?"

  Fathom sat on a rock. He was very old and tired and did not answer.

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  A crowd gathered outside Fathom's house, chanting and singing. Runr cocked his head quizzically. They were singing the song of the crystals. Runr looked at his stone which he still clutched firmly to his chest, but it did not respond to the songs. The old man watched. Runr whispered to his stone, a slow wail, rising and falling. The stone glowed fiercely. The old man rose and walked to the door. The chanting and singing stopped.

  "Africans, we shall have an Afrian with us today," said the old man in his loudest voice. They listened without a sound. "He is a young man and he can speak to the stone."

  There was a great cry. The old man raised his hand and they were quiet. "He is a very young man. He shall not give us a miracle."

  "What can he give us!" they shouted, and "We shall see him talk to the stone!"

  The old man raised his hand and they were again silent. Runr appeared at the door and the crowd began to murmur, then chant. "We shall see him speak to the stone!"

  Fathom turned to the
boy. "They wish to see you speak to the stone. Be careful. They shall want a miracle."

  "I understand," said Runr and walked out of the house and down the path. They parted to let him pass and followed him to a large flat rock. Runr climbed the rock and stood tall and black, his rusty curls flowing about his head, his eyes glowing green. He held the stone above his head and looked down on the Africans gathered about the rock. He closed his eyes and moaned, then sang softly. The stone began to glow. The Africans began to murmur. The stone then burst into a shower of blue lights dancing about the boy's hands. The Africans gasped and backed away.

  There were quiet cries of "Look at the walls. Look at the lights!" Runr opened his eyes and looked about. The walls of the canyon began to glow, an eerie blue glimmer which increased to a bright wavering light. The Africans bowed in Runr's direction and began to sing the crystal song. The blue lights responded by rising and falling in intensity, in concert with the song. As the song grew louder so the lights grew stronger. Then the sky which had been bright, grew dark and the singing stopped abruptly. Then a burst of lightning streaked jagged across the sky, thunder shook the cavern and small pebbles fell from the ceiling. The crowd of Africans staggered back and gazed at Runr. The boy was on his knees with his head bowed, clutching his stone, moaning, singing. There was silence. Only an occasional rumble of thunder could be heard from outside the mountain. Then someone shouted from the ledge high on the sides of the canyon wall.

  "The forest! It is blue! It shines with a blue light! The forest ... blue!"

  The crowd began to move slowly toward the stairway which led to the ledge. Soon they were running and climbing the stairs and running through the cave which led to the outside of their mountain. There they stopped and gazed in awe at the jungle; it was glowing and flashing with blue lights. They began to sing, a rising and falling, wailing, the song of the crystals. The lights of the jungle pulsated in rhythm.

  When Runr appeared at the mouth of the cave the singing stopped. All eyes were on the boy. Runr gazed at the jungle. He had never seen such a display on C-phon3. His people - the Afrians - they had laid crystals throughout this forest and to the river beyond. The crystals controlled the weather as they had on Afria. The boy ran down the slope to the edge of the jungle and fell to the ground, moaning and singing. His stone fell by his side but he paid no heed. The sky cleared and the sun leapt from behind a dark cloud, hot and bright. The Africans ran down the slope and gathered about Runr, singing and chanting.

  "You shall give us a miracle! You shall give us a miracle!"

  Several tall men lifted Runr to their shoulders and began to march back to the cave.

  "You shall give us a miracle!"

  Runr was frightened. What miracle did they want? Had they killed the Afrian children for want of a miracle? What would they do to him?

  They placed Runr on a rock before the mouth of the cave and continued their chant. Runr stood, half crouching, afraid. Fathom appeared at the mouth of the cave. He was stooping and appeared very weak, panting. He walked to the rock and tried to join Runr, but was too weak to climb.

  "Africans!" he shouted as loudly as he could. "The boy cannot give us a miracle!"

  They didn't listen but continued to chant: "You shall give us a miracle!"

  Then they began to throw stones. Runr was hit on the head and blood flowed down his cheek. The Africans were shouting now and didn't hear the rumble or see the thin spiral of grey smoke rise from the top of their mountain. When the ground began to shudder they did stop. Bright orange sparks began to spit from the peak, then clouds of black smoke, then spires of bright red flame. The crowd was now quiet, staring.

  Then, with a deafening roar, the top of the mountain exploded and streams of white hot lava ran down the side of the mountain, agonizingly slowly, devouring trees in its path in a brief flare of light and the Africans began to run, into the jungle, into the cave, along the side of the mountain and Fathom was trampled in the mad rush. Runr jumped down and dragged the old man to the side of the rock. Fathom was bleeding. He spoke very softly and Runr held his ear to the old man's mouth.

  "Runr, you shall go now. My people have their miracle ... they shall ... forever -" then Fathom died.

  Runr lifted his head and howled mightily. The ground shook and the jungle burst into a bright blue glow, then dimmed and became dark. Runr stood and watched the frantic rush of Africans. Someone placed a hand on his shoulder and Runr jumped.

  "Runr ... come with me." It was Cayla. "You shall not be safe here. Come."

  Together they ran into the jungle. There were Africans everywhere but they ignored Cayla and the boy. Behind them they heard screams of anguish. The volcano erupted into a tower of red molten rock. The jungle behind them began to burn, the flames whipped into a frenzy by winds which suddenly rose to hurricane force. Cayla and Runr ran until they emerged from the far side of the jungle, then Cayla stopped.

  "Runr, you shall go now. I must return to my people. Do not stop - my people shall be angry. They shall come to find you. Go now, quickly!"

  Runr needed no further encouragement. He ran. Cayla watched until the boy had disappeared beyond a hill, then he turned slowly and walked back into the smoking jungle.

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  When Runr reached the river he stopped and drank, swam across, climbed up the far bank and lay down. Why had the crystals destroyed the home of the Africans? Had he, Runr, been responsible? He had only asked for a miracle, to please the Africans. Had the crystals been angry? Had they misinterpreted his request? Were the crystals protecting him from the anger of the Africans? He thought of the visitors from Afria and their attempt to improve the conditions of the Africans. They had left three of their children. Perhaps the Afrians had hoped that the genetic talents of these children would eventually pervade the small black community, that one day the entire community could speak to the stones and control their own environment.

  Runr lay for a long time, thinking. Where had the Afrians gone after they left this community? Would he ever find an Afrian? Were his parents alive, somewhere?

  Suddenly, he heard a noise and pushed himself to his feet. A dozen Africans were swimming across the river. He jumped up and began to run up the slope, away from the river, across the dry yellow plains, and he could hear them shouting, but he was confident that he could run faster than they.

  He did not expect to run into Africans returning from a hunt, but he did.

  Runr ran into the first tall black man, dodged and ran directly into the arms of the second. There were six Africans. Three carried small deer. They all carried long spears. Within minutes the dozen Africans came running from the direction of the river, shouting and waving spears. Runr struggled but they held him tightly. Just as the dozen were close enough to shout directives to the hunting party, a dark cloud appeared above the plains. It grew larger and rumbled and hummed and roared and descended. The Africans stopped and fell to the ground, but Runr was still held tightly. Runr looked up. The dark cloud was a ship - a space ship: the Andromeda.

  "Thou shalt release the boy!" came a loud voice from the dark cloud. The Africans hugged the ground, but did not release Runr.

  "The wrath of God shall smite thee!" and a thin beam of pink light leapt from the dark cloud and swept the ground. The dry grass burst into flames and the Africans jumped to their feet and began to run toward the river. Runr was left standing, alone. He looked up and smiled. A shuttle descended from the belly of the ship and landed nearby. The door opened and Captain Cruder stepped out, frowning. Runr ran to the shuttle, smiling.

  "Thou art a rascal!" shouted Cruder.

  "Captain Cruder, how glad we are to see thee!" cried Runr and ran into the Captain's arms. Cruder hugged the boy and his frown changed quickly to a grin, then he laughed loudly.

  "Ah, my boy. We are glad to see thee too! Come, let us return to Andromeda and thou shalt tell us of thy adventure
s - adventures that we have missed!"

  They climbed into the shuttle and it rose smoothly and vanished into the belly of the huge space ship. Soon Andromeda was gone from sight. On the far side of the river a small band of tall black men in white robes stood and watched in awe. There would be songs of this visit of the black boy with long rusty hair and glowing green eyes and of his miraculous departure.

  One day he would return - and make a miracle.