Center Moon: The Stone of Cordova

by Stephen Gambuti

  The door to his room popped open. With her arms wide open, Aunt Cleonia stood in the doorway. “Hello, kiddo.”

  *

  Four

  “Good sun, Aunt Cleonia.”

  Carlen stayed back behind his mother waiting for his invite inside.

  “Hey, Carlen.” Jonas felt badly about snapping at him yesterday.

  Carlen perked up and walked past his mother. “Hey, Jonas.” He handed Jonas a packet.

  “What’s this?”

  “Open it,” Cleonia cut in.

  Jonas ripped the top of the packet open. He tucked his fingers inside and pulled out a small stack of papers. The one on top was a different color than the rest.

  “From the Academy?”

  “And I was able to get you into the common house a couple of rounds earlier. So you’ll only have to put up with us for about seven suns.”

  “Thanks.” His grin quickly faded from his lips. “I don’t think I want to attend the Academy.”

  “Oh, Jonas. Don’t say such a thing. Your father—”

  “—dreamed about me following in his footsteps.” Jonas rattled the packet a bit.

  “Jonas? You have to go. At least give it a try.” Cleonia folded her hands together in a pleading gesture.

  “Fine. But if I don’t like it—”

  “—then you can stay with me,” his aunt finished.

  “Just the incentive you wanted.” Carlen laughed.

  “Shut up, you idiot.” Cleonia forced a laughed so she did not look abusive.

  “Make you a deal?” Jonas smiled at his aunt. “I will let you know tomorrow what I want to do.”

  “There is a bit of family business as well.” Cleonia walked over and thumbed through the packet. “Here.” She pulled out a paper, which was snuggled in the center of the bunch.

  Jonas read the paper. His eyes widened. “Holy—”

  “Hopefully that will help you decide.” Cleonia tapped Carlen on the shoulder. “We will pick you up tomorrow at half sun. Enjoy the rest of your stay.”

  “Where are you going? My officer told me I was going home today.”

  “Unfortunately, they changed your discharge. I would keep you company but we have a ton to do.”

  Jonas looked at Carlen. As much as he hated to be around him because of the craft incident, he was someone to talk to at least. “How about you, Carlen?”

  A gentle knock came on the door.

  Jonas noticed it was the nurse’s assistant from yesterday.

  “Carlen can stay if he wants to,” Cleonia said.

  Carlen watched the nurse’s assistant come in with food and drink.

  “Hey, if you want me to stay I will. Anything for my little cousin.” Carlen grinned at the girl.

  She returned the smile.

  Jonas hopped to his feet, noticing the friendly exchange between the two of them. “I asked because I need Carlen to do me a big favor. Huge.”

  “Anything for you, Jonas.” Carlen puffed out his chest hoping to capture her attention.

  “Great. Could you find my friends and tell them where I am?”

  “Now? Today?” Carlen transformed back into his usual self.

  “Well, you did just say you would do anything.”

  “Fine.”

  Cleonia gave Jonas a kiss on the cheek. She pointed to the packet. “Put that away.”

  “Right,” Jonas said.

  They left Jonas and the nurse’s assistant in the room.

  As Jonas was putting his packet back together, the nurse’s assistant brought his food over to him. She glanced at his face and gently rubbed her finger along his puffy cheekbone. “It has gone down quite a bit.”

  Jonas loved that she was touching him. He almost wished he was swollen all over. He sat on his bed, fumbling with his papers.

  The nurse’s assistant looked over at him. “The Academy?”

  “Yeah … Not my first choice.”

  “That’s a shame. My father’s a master there.”

  “Really?”

  “Really. He teaches the small crafts class.”

  “Small cra—” Jonas stopped his question, remembering small crafts were ten man battle ships.

  “He’s really strict.”

  “You mean in class?”

  “No. At home.” She giggled and turned away, blushing.

  “I really don’t want to go, but my dad is kind of making me.”

  “So tell him you don’t want it.”

  “That’s kind of hard … He was killed three days ago.”

  “I’m sorry.” The nurse’s assistant prepared his food tray. She brought it over to his bed. “May I ask how?”

  “Well, it’s the reason I’m here. Something tried to kill us. I can’t explain it. They were robotic probes of some sort. They came right into our dwelling and started shooting.”

  “Oh, Gods.” The nurse’s assistant sat down next to Jonas on the bunk. “How did you escape?”

  Just as Jonas was about to tell the story, a short stocky man walked in the room. He had a pail full of cleaning supplies. His forehead was huge and his face scrunched together. He was definitely a primitive like they’d learned about in class. The parts of skin that came through his clothes had thick hair sprouting out making his dark complexion appear even darker.

  The nurse’s assistant halted her words and cautiously watched every action of the man.

  Jonas leaned over and whispered in the girl’s ear. “Who is that?”

  “He’s the maintenance man,” she whispered back, keeping her gaze trained on the man. “A Crow.”

  The man kept to himself as he wiped down the chrome furniture in the room.

  Jonas unknowingly grabbed his packet upside down and the papers fanned out across the floor.

  The man tucked his polishing rag in his pocket. He reached down and picked up the colored paper. “Academy?”

  Jonas nodded.

  The man shook his head in a dissenting manner.

  “What’s wrong with the Academy?” the girl demanded.

  “Bunch of killers.” The man scooped up the rest of the papers and handed them in two piles to Jonas. “You do not look like a killer.”

  “I think you need to leave.” The nurse’s assistant stood up defensively. “Don’t make me call Enforcement.”

  “That’s okay. I’m on my way.” The man gathered his pail and moseyed out.

  Jonas checked to make sure the man was not lingering in the halls. Then he grabbed a cup and filled it with fluid. “What’s with him?”

  “Those people, if you can call them that, hate us for no reason.”

  “I learned that we chased them off this planet when we migrated here.”

  “That’s just not true,” the girl huffed, and stomped out of the room.

  “Sorry.” Jonas just sat there, bewildered at her attitude. He could not understand it. His master at second school had taught them all about the Provisional Settlements.

  The colonies migrated from their home planet, Venus, in order to escape its withering atmosphere. His master would not lie. Then again, Captain Troupe had always been at odds with his masters.

  Jonas recollected a time when his father punched out a master who suggested that there was a small village of Crows and Sapians living harmoniously.

  Jonas lay in his bunk. He was now anxiously awaiting his release tomorrow. The nurse’s assistant gave him the cold shoulder the rest of the evening. Maybe Aunt Cleonia’s dwelling wouldn’t be that bad. After all, it was only for a couple of rounds. Gawking at the empty bed above him, he kept closing his eyes and trying to will himself to sleep. Nothing was working. He reached under his pillow and pulled out his father’s stone. Jonas rolled it between his fingers as he hoped for guidance. Maybe he would read over the packet he received. When he put the stone away, he thought the small rock went into his pocket but it fell in between the sheets.

  Jonas reached over at his bedside table and seized the papers. He held them opposite the
window so he would get the moon’s illumination. The light would provide a sufficient reading environment.

  The top paper was his curse. The acceptance letter into the Academy. How he wished his father would forgive him if he did not go. Thumbing through the papers, he searched for his parents’ trust. The Parliamentary Council always took care of their officers and their families.

  While going through the packet, Jonas detected a red dot flickering on the top right corner of the papers. He shuffled the packet up and down but the dot remained in place. Jonas laid the packet down on his bed. The dot flickered on the wall in front of him. Oh, no, he thought. Cautiously turning toward the window, he noticed a probe hovering right outside the window opening. It was like the others, which had destroyed his family. This one had its lens locked right on him.

  “What do you want from me?” Jonas vaulted onto the floor and quickly rolled against the opposite wall.

  Crack! The probe unchained its firepower into the wall. Jonas stared at his bed. The papers from the packet were mixed with all the charred remains of his sleeping area.

  Jonas scanned the doorway. It was slightly ajar. He stayed low, sliding himself along the floor, towards his escape. The familiar sound of the clicking lens stung every nerve.

  As he slithered along the floor, the red tracer light flickered only a few inches in front of him. The killer robot tried to get aim of its target as the dot drew closer. Jonas wedged his fingers into the door’s opening. He pulled it open, flooding the room with light from the hallway. Jonas got up to his knees. He was about to leap into the exit when a shadowy figure blocked the door. The dark man was bearing a long, rod-like weapon.

  The figure took the weapon and pierced the probe, pushing it into the wall, knocking its lens to the floor.

  Jonas took advantage of the opportunity and fled the room. Curious, the teen looked back to see who his rescuer was. It was the clean up man from earlier in the day.

  The man was bashing the evil machine into a useless dented can. He continually hit the probe with his mop until it dropped.

  Jonas stood in the doorway, afraid to come back into the room.

  “You better run.” The man caught his breath as he rubbed his mop handle down with a dirty rag.

  “You beat the thing with a mop?” Jonas thought it was some kind of fighting gear the man used.

  “These probes have the Republic written all over them.” The man wiped his sweaty face with the same rag he’d used to clean the mop. “For some reason, they’re after you.” The man looked sternly at Jonas. “They will get you if you don’t watch yourself.”

  “Why would they want to kill me?” Jonas figured he was safe in the medi-center.

  “Listen. Get your things together and follow me.”

  For the first time, Jonas, who trusted everybody, was not sure if he should trust this person. He was a Crow.

  “Get your things,” the man shouted.

  Jonas realized that this man had, in fact, just saved his life. He ran over to his bed, discovering that his papers were unsalvageable. He ran to the corner and gathered up some of his belongings. He tossed them into his backpack. Jonas knew more probes were on the way. The teen headed down the hallway.

  “Hey!” the man shouted.

  “Huh?” Jonas stopped.

  The man gestured for Jonas to follow.

  Both of them ran down the opposite direction of the narrow hall. Every step had Jonas looking behind him. He was expecting more probes just like he’d experienced at his dwelling. The maintenance man stopped at the end of the hallway. He looked at Jonas and pointed to the bare wall.

  “You must keep going.”

  Jonas grew extremely nervous. Maybe this person was setting him up. There was absolutely nowhere to go. “Where?” Jonas pointed back down the hallway. “There?”

  “Here.” The man tapped three times on the top right corner of the wall. The entire end of the hallway opened up.

  The opening led to a dark, secret corridor. The ceiling dipped low, which only made the passage more eerie.

  “At the end, you will find a dracosaur. It will take you where you need to go.”

  “Where do I need to go?”

  “You will be taken to a Safe Zone. There will be many people like me. You will be safe there. I promise.”

  “Crows?” Jonas asked.

  The man heard a clicking sound approaching. “Get outta here. I will come by later.”

  Jonas stepped into the black passage. He was about to thank the man but before he could get a word out, the wall was slammed shut. He thought he spotted the nurse’s assistant poking her head around the corner. He wanted to go back and tell her to run. He hoped the nice Crow would protect her, too.

  Jonas glared down the black tunnel. There was no sign of light. He squinted his eyes in hope that his pupils would adjust.

  “Oh, great.” He started down the corridor using his hands as a guide against the cold wall. He thought about the dracosaur that was supposedly waiting for him. Jonas feared those huge lizards more than the probes. He’d never seen one in person.

  The only reference Jonas had about the dracos was from the stories his father used to tell him. In the early years of settlement, the Council ordered all dracos to be terminated. They were dangerous. They would constantly leave huge remains of scaly skin behind, which decomposed and caused disease. Captain Troupe said dracos would eat anything they could get their razor sharp teeth into, including humans. If that was true, then this man was leading Jonas to certain death. That doesn’t make sense, he thought. If he wanted me to die, he could’ve just let the probe finish me off. Random thoughts clouded his ability to think straight. He would just do as he was instructed.

  With every careful step down the tunnel, the air became cooler and more humid. Another thought popped into his head. How would he get to his aunt’s dwelling? Was she okay or had the probes visited her, too? Then the most pressing issue. What was the place his parents mentioned?

  “Yes.” His eyes widened as best they could through the swelling.

  A small light flickered further down the tunnel. Jonas prayed that this was the end of the passageway. With each step, the illumination grew larger. That’s it. He trudged more enthusiastically. He stopped using his hands to lead him. The ceiling was way too low for an all-out sprint or he would have done so.

  He reached the mouth of the tunnel. His escape route brought him to a small hidden swamp at the mountain’s foot. Jonas discovered the medi-center sat high up on the mountain. With the three moons floating in the sky, he had plenty of vision. There was one thing missing though. The dracosaur. Maybe that was a good thing.

  Jonas could just run to his aunt’s dwelling and warn her. That would be the best bet. He did not want to go to a Safe Zone anyway.

  A flat sandy plain opened up beyond the swamp. A path could not be too far away. Jonas ripped the hospice band from around his wrist and headed out of the swamp. He carefully went around the water so he would not fall in.

  Raaaaaahhhhhh.

  Jonas froze at the sound of the faint roar. He shifted his eyes but did not see anything. His next step was extra cautious.

  Raaaaahhhhhh.

  Jonas stopped again. What is that? The roar was a little stronger this time.

  Jonas turned towards a crackling noise in the wooded part of the swamp. Something large was breaking its way through the viney trees. It was headed quickly in his direction.

  Raaaahhhhhhh!

  “Gods alive!” Jonas watched a huge lizard rumble towards him.

  The animal was not stopping. It was in a full charge. Its long bony tail stood straight up in the air. The end of the tail bore a spiny club-like weapon. The lizard’s eyes were deep red. Its scales reminded Jonas of ocean waves as they rippled with the steady motion of the beast.

  Jonas dove into the murky swamp, saving himself from being trounced. He poked his head out of the brown water. The animal turned around and walked back to where Jonas had s
tood.

  The lizard parked his huge body and stared at the teen with one of its huge, bubble-like eyes. Jonas waited safely in the swamp.

  “Are you a dracosaur?” Jonas asked from the security of the swamp.

  The giant lizard just kept staring at him through those large spheres in the center of its head.

  Jonas stood up in the water and stood in place. “Are you going to take me to the Safe Zone?”

  The lizard shifted forward and let out a grunt.

  Jonas plopped back down into the water.

  They studied each other.

  Jonas thought maybe this animal had the ability to understand him. It just responded to his question with a jerk and sound. “The Safe Zone. That’s where I need to go.”

  The animal bared his large mouth. The beast let out a gentle growl.

  “You’re no beast. You don’t even have teeth.” Then Jonas thought about his father’s stories. This can’t be a dracosaur.

  The lizard plopped its orange-scaled body to the ground. It lay along the water’s edge.

  Jonas stood up again and slowly approached the animal. The lizard remained in its lazy locale. It was very calm. Jonas held his hands out, demonstrating to the beast that he meant no harm. He advanced cautiously. Jonas admired the animal’s beautiful armored plates along his spine. They matched the lizard’s exotic tail. Jonas realized this animal was harmless.

  He caressed his hand up along its natural armor. “Easy, fella.”

  The lizard relished the attention and began to roll its eyes back into its head.

  “You aren’t mean at all.” With each stroke along the animal, Jonas gained more courage. “You like me, huh?”

  The lizard jerked his head and let out a loud roar. Jonas bolted back into the water. Once safe, he sat up, noticing the animal had not budged.

  “Okay … maybe you don’t like me.” Jonas stood up and wiped his pants free of muck. “What am I supposed to do? Where do I go?”

  The lizard started shifting its body from left to right. Its head slightly jerked up and down.

  “Oh. You want me to hop on your back.”

  The lizard answered Jonas by rocking its body with more force.

  “I’m right?”

  The lizard jerked its head again.