“Kane, move it. Come on, come, on,” he cried as he watched his son struggle with Chloe a good twenty four yards down the trail. Her face was drained of blood and her breathing sounded hoarse and ragged.
“Go, Dad. Don’t wait for us. Get the babies to safety. We’ll be right behind you.”
Cobby ran back to Kane.
“Dad . . . no.”
“Take the babies,” Cobby commanded. “Now get out of here.” He passed the infants to Kane, giving him a push, as Chloe collapsed on the trail.
“The baby . . . my baby.” Her face contracted in agony as she fought for breath.
Cobby bent down and slid his arms under Chloe’s body, lifting her high and staggered toward the granite rock as Chloe’s face turned blue.
“Oh, dear God. Give us the strength.” Sucking in a deep gulp of air, he stilled his chattering arm muscles and pushed past his endurance. Lurching heavily, they continued on, his arms burning and Chloe silent.
Plunging into the Hive, he looked for Kane. The corridor was empty.
Eying the cavern wall, he discovered it bare and dry. No membrane, no welcoming light. He plunged into darkness as they left the mouth of the Hive.
Where was everyone? Agonizing streaks of pain ran up his legs as he stumbled on by memory. He could no longer feel his arms, numbness threatening his grip on the now unconscious Chloe.
He could feel the corridor expand into the cavern of their arrival so long ago, filled with memories happy and sad. He plunged on.
As he reached the end of the cavern, he fought the darkness to find the next corridor. From behind them, he heard a sound. Halting, he gulped air as he sensed a presence.
“Kane . . . Dezi?” The heart-stopping familiar roar of a great tiger froze him to the spot. He felt the tiger move in front of him to block his path. From the rear, he heard a sharp bark. Turning toward the bark, Caesar leaned into the back of his legs, urging him forward. The bark sounded again as Cobby followed the sound. Caesar kept the pressure on the back of his legs, abruptly thrusting him into an obstacle he sensed in the dark.
As he fell forward, his protesting arms released Chloe and she tumbled forward ahead of him. Down he went, breaking through the membrane portal with Caesar still exerting pressure from behind.
He fought, but consciousness deserted him.
*
Cobby stretched in the darkness, feeling better than he had in a long time. He tried to open his eyes and discovered they were already open. A twinge of nausea brought his hand to his stomach. He panicked as his hand floundered in the darkness, unable to feel his abdomen.
His breath increased, shallow and rapid as he fought unconsciousness again.
Where am I? How long have I been out? Where is everyone? His debilitating terror threatened to swamp him.
Without warning, a feeling of goodwill and warmth flooded his nerves, relaxing him completely. Light began to fill his senses. He jerked as something touched his face, tracing the contours down his cheek.
“It is me, Brother Cobby. Sister Echo. I am here for you.”
“Echo? I can't see you. Where are we? Is everyone here? Are we safe?”
“Yes, Brother we are safe. We are on the pathway.”
“What? What pathway?”
“The only pathway. The only one left. I will be here to calm you.”
Cobby could hear sobbing in the distance. The sound got louder . . . a woman’s sobbing drifting closer.
“Who’s there? Is that you, Kenya? Are you okay? Kenya?”
“No. Is that you, Cobby? Can you help me find my way out of here?” Bonnie asked. “I need to find Peter.” Her sobbing began again.
Echo’s aura dimmed. “Brother Peter is already gone. They are all gone. We have traveled far, Sister Bonnie. This path has taken us many light years away. For you it has been momentary, but for the Earth it has been a lifetime.”
Her sobbing stopped. “Are you effing kidding me, Echo? You take me back right this very minute!”
“That is impossible, Sister. The pathway is dissolving behind us. It will not be needed again. Please excuse me. My Barney needs me.” Echo’s voice floated away, his last words fuzzy in Cobby’s mind. “We will be home soon.”
“Are you still there, Bonnie?”
“Yes, Cobby, I'm here. I can't see you and I can't feel myself. But I'm not scared. Just confused. The light is so . . . calming. Why can't I see you?”
“I don't know, hon. Have you heard from anyone else?”
“No. Who’s with you?”
“Kenya and Kane. Chloe and Dezi. I was carrying Chloe and I dropped her. We got separated. She needs help.”
The sobbing began again.
“How did you get here? Bonnie . . .?”
“After the Elders left, I decided to look for Tobi in the Hive. I found elephant dung on the hill. I figured she might have taken the herd to the mineral lick where my sister . . .” Silence.
“Bonnie? You still there?”
“Yes, Cobby. Sorry. It’s just . . . hard. Tobi wasn’t there. It took me a long time to get back. As I walked the tunnels, the lights went out. The membranes were contracting. I ran, trying to keep up. I made it to the first cavern. Caesar was there. I thought it was strange that he wasn’t with Chloe. He backed me up against the wall and pushed me into the membrane. That’s all I can remember until Echo. I heard a voice in the distance. I tried to find the voice, but couldn’t until I felt Echo touch my face. Then I recognized it was you.”
“Can you reach out, Bonnie? See if you can find my hand.” He flailed into the light with his arm, still unable to distinguish anything.
“Sorry, Cobby. I can’t feel anything.” Her voice sounded small and weak. Cobby flailed around some more, his hand striking something.
“Oh. I hope that’s you, Cobby,” Bonnie cried fearfully.
“Yes. Yes. Reach out, hon. Try again.” His hand struck her again. She didn’t pull away and he was able to wrap his hand around hers, pulling until he felt her next to him.
“I can feel you, Bonnie. But I can’t see you.”
“Yes. Me too. Feel better now.”
Their minds erupted with auras as Baby and Echo rejoiced. A lone message of pure joy from Echo broke through to Cobby, saddening him deeply.
‘We are almost home, family. My Brother Scotty will be so happy to see me.”
*
The light dimmed as Cobby and Bonnie encountered a flexible barrier.
“Can you help me push against this thing, Bonnie?”
Together, they leaned into the barrier, stepping out into their new home. Stomach spasms forced them to cover their mouths, a movement duplicated by Kane, Kenya, Chloe and Dezi in various stages of sprawl.
Cobby lost his battle as he vomited all over the clay depression they stood in. As the sounds of his defeat carried to the others, a chain reaction set off a host of retching.
Cobby looked up as the clatter of tiny wheels flew down the sides of the clear dome that covered the clay depression. What looked like a twelve-inch furry robot, with the same shimmering eyes as the minions, swept toward him. In a matter of seconds, all signs of his upset stomach had been removed from the clay floor.
As he followed its path back up the curved side of the dome, it disappeared into a box that hung down over him, firmly anchored in place. Within a second, another popped out to make a trip to clean up another nasty effect of their journey.
“This only happens with first timers.”
Cobby turned to see Wil, Netty and Jose standing with the dogs.
A heavy organic stench emanated from the portal. Cobby tuned to watch as the Kreyven emerged, trailing the precious membrane attached to its tail. As he watched, the Kreyven sucked the membrane through the portal, enveloping it into its mass as the portal dissolved. The Kreyven then exited the dome, leaving the survivors stunned.
Behind them, as far as the eye could see, the animals of the migration stood milling around. To his astonishment, he recogn
ized other dome structures in the distance containing figures. The Kreyven hurried toward one of the domes, entered, then vanished into another portal.
Golden minions fluttered at all the dome openings. Lowering his eyes, he was taken aback as hundreds of minion eyes stared back at him from outside their dome. They lined up all the way around, faces pressed against the structure like wide-eyed children.
“The animals are waiting for Echo to release their implants. We’ll let them take their places in our ecosystem until we can sort out those who may need relocating to other environments.”
Cobby stood, speechless. Wil threw out his arms as Netty and Jose looked on. “Well . . . does an old friend deserve a hug?”
He felt Wil’s arms go around him. He held on tight, trying to resist bawling like a babe. He straightened up to ask, “Are the babies all right?”
Netty shook her head, sadness evident in the droop of her wings.
“Yes. They had to be removed quickly, though. They left with some minions and might need medical attention. We must check the oxygen level of their blood. Adults are usually fine. You’ll all get a thorough check-up later this evening.”
She swept her hand toward the excited faces outside the dome. “As you can see, you already have fans. They are very excited to see the creation of the original Elders in the flesh after so many millions of years. They will want to examine your evolution.”
“Our evolution?” Cobby spoke weakly, visibly cringing. He shut his eyes, repressing his questions. Then his heart fluttered as he casually asked for Abby.
Netty pointed to where she sat with Echo and Chloe, their arms wrapped around one another and sobbing. Caesar sat stoically in the distance.
Cobby approached slowly, the others following, afraid to disturb the emotional scene.
“Abby?”
Detaching herself from Echo, Abby turned at the sound of Cobby’s voice. She flew into his arms without thinking. “Thank the Womb, you made it. I thought I’d die when we got here and discovered the Womb’s plans,” she whispered. Quickly detaching, she patted his arm in a friendly fashion to cover her emotions. “I’m so pleased you made it, Cobby. Thank you for all you have done for Chloe,” she proclaimed loudly. Standing to the side, she let Cobby through to Chloe.
“Why all the tears, champ? We made it.”
Chloe’s eyes widened as she signaled silence. Echo lay on her lap, looking off into space, his arm wrapped around Barney’s neck, who lay panting at her side.
Chloe turned back to Cobby, her voice choked, and whispered, “We just told Echo. She didn’t know about Scotty. That’s why you were all in the dark about the migration and the reason for it. Echo kept sending word to Scotty, but her auras couldn’t find him. She couldn’t return until she finished her mission. The Womb had sent the nooglets to help get it started.”
Abby interrupted, Netty, Wil and Jose at her side, “Yes, Baby and Echo finally got to fulfill what was left of their mission. They were busy implanting all the wildlife so they would be saved before the Womb stepped in.”
“But why? Cobby pounded his fist in frustration. “What about the others? Hud and Ginger Mae . . . Salina . . . Johno . . . all the others . . . Oh God . . .” He hung his head. “They deserved to live. We all did everything right. We did exactly as the Womb demanded.”
Netty approached, reaching out to clasp Cobby’s hand. “Don’t you understand, Cobby? The Womb gave up on the human race long ago. An accommodation was made as Abby unexpectedly rescued humans with the wildlife. But that was all it was . . . an accommodation.
“With the discovery of the tribe at the Franklin Mines, the benevolent Womb granted them access to their own growing field so the cannibalism of their infants would stop. Babies, like the wildlife, are the innocent.
“The Womb decided to give humans a true second chance when Chloe proved we can respect life, despite our evil and venal inclinations.”
Abby hung her head in disappointment. “It just wasn’t to be. The evilness in humans cannot be restrained. On the one hand the Womb giveth and on the other taketh. There was just no time to warn the others. You had split seconds.”
Cobby wiped tears from his eyes.
Kenya and Kane joined the group, giving hugs all round. Dezi hung back as Daisy looked from face to face, tears hovering in her eye. “Where’s my mother? Where’s Hud?”
As the silence from the survivors answered her question, Dezi stepped up to put his arms around her. “I loved her, Daisy. You know that?”
Daisy shook her head, speechless in the arms of her mother’s best friend as they cried together.
“Can someone please tell me why? Why did the Womb decide Baby and Echo needed to complete their mission now? I thought we were through all that. We did everything right . . . for so darn long,” cried Kenya.
Abby returned to Echo and Chloe, her hands upraised. Bitterness rang out in her voice, loud and true. “It was Seth and Lorna. Clyde’s grandchildren. Seth couldn’t suppress the evilness inside him. He murdered Lorna a few days ago, cutting off her hand like a trophy. He was planning a coup to take over their tribe. Barney had followed Lorna’s trail when he ran away and came upon the murder scene. Seth decided to hold Barney for ransom until Baby showed up to rescue Barney for Echo. In the confusion of it all, they shot Baby with a harpoon gun, almost killing him and compounding Echo’s difficulty of passing a message. She couldn’t get through to anyone. She was too far away to send her aura to anyone but Scotty or another minion. She did manage to lock in on Baby’s position before he went into a coma. Eventually, Echo rescued Baby—you don’t need the details. It’s safe to say Seth got what he deserved.”
Echo sat up her aura pronouncing, “We can create more life, Brothers and Sisters. We will improve on Homo sapiens with the next generation. We have the babies. And we have my Brother Scotty’s offspring here.” Echo placed her leather hand on Chloe’s bulging stomach, then turned to Abby to place her other hand on her stomach. “Life begins again.”
Abby laughed nervously. “Don’t joke like that, Echo.”
Echo’s aura privately stroked Cobby’s mind. “Do not worry, Brother. Sister’s journey through the portal did not hurt the young seed.”
What the heck? Abby’s pregnant? That can’t be, can it? he asked himself, thunderstruck at the possibility.
Netty stood before them, her sadness more pronounced. “I’m sure you don’t realize that millions of light years have passed as you spent mere minutes in the portal. The time is drawing near. Can I ask you all for a moment of your time as we say goodbye?”
The perplexed survivors looked to the sky, following the direction of Netty’s hand. A large radiant light sat in the sky, dwarfing the surrounding stars. It appeared to grow larger, its radiance burning brighter, then abruptly winked out.
Shocked faces met terror-stricken eyes as Netty walked away with Wil to stand at the door to the dome that would lead them to their new life.
Earth . . . gone?
A sobbing Bonnie looked up as a herd of elephants rushed toward the dome, the indomitable Tobi in the lead, scattering the watching minions as Tobi thumped her trunk against the barrier.
No one said a word as they helped Chloe and Abby to their feet, the shocked silence a eulogy for their vanished homeland. Abby glanced back at Cobby, her expression unreadable.
No matter what, we’ll work this out. Our baby . . . ours, thought Cobby.
They quietly stepped out on a grassy plain that shimmered with colorful buildings on the horizon. The setting sun began its winking goodbye, presenting the survivors with three bright red moons, iconic and ever watching, just as their own Earthly moon used to do.
Tobi trumpeted, the herd’s confused displacement quelled with the familiar sound of their now happy matriarch having been reunited with her Bonnie.
Life goes on, no matter the heartbreak.
Trudging on, the silence was finally broken again by Daisy’s plaintive sigh. “All those books. My books
. What a loss . . . just heartbreaking.”
“I think we might have one book for you, Daisy,” said Kane. He gazed back at Dezi, who still wore his kitchen apron.
“You still have that book you’ve been reading forever, Dez?”
“Yeah . . . why?”
Kane held out his hand. “Pass it on up here.”
Dezi pulled the book from his apron pocket. Kane looked at the title then held it up for all to see, his expression rueful.
The lettering was beautiful, gold leaf with prominent flourishes. It said simply, The Holy Bible.
The End
‘Heaven is by favor; if it were by merit your dog would go in and you would stay out. Of all the creatures ever made [man] is the most detestable. Of the entire brood, he is the only one . . . that possesses malice. He is the only creature that inflicts pain for sport, knowing it to be pain.’
— Mark Twain
‘We must fight against the spirit of unconscious cruelty with which we treat the animals. Animals suffer as much as we do. True humanity does not allow us to impose such sufferings on them. It is our duty to make the whole world recognize it. Until we extend our circle of compassion to all living things, humanity will not find peace.’
― Albert Schweitzer
*
My dear reader,
Hopefully you have enjoyed my series if you have read this far. Most of you probably realize the importance of reviews. If you have the extra two minutes, could you please go to my book page and leave me a few words on the story and the writing. I would be so grateful. Reading my reviews are what keeps me writing or conversely discourages me. It is all up to YOUR voice.
J. K. Accinni
www.smashwords.com/books/view/363202
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