“Yes, Captain, I will provide you with well-made weapons. May they not be turned against you, or the Conestoga, in any manner similar to what happened in the insurrection,” SB Bodowa stated with mechanical resignation.
“That is my prayer as well. There is a chance none of the weapons will be needed,” Eris answered. In her heart, she did pray that they would not be needed, but in her mind, she doubted they could escape without a battle.
3 plunge them into a deadly situation
Several hours before, while they were walking to the memorial service for Cadet Danny, the Old One, three children skipped through the dimly lit corridors on the needle ship.
“Dmitar, why did your come here?” Claire asked. She had already asked him several times, and was sort of teasing him. “It was not to hunt cavies, as you have no arrows or bow.” Clair’s voice was nearly breaking with her playful teasing. Her large, smoky-gray colored eyes shone in the dim light. She pushed her golden blonde hair back over her ears. “So, tell me why you really came.”
“I came to go to the memorial service,” Dmitar answered. “I did not come to answer silly questions, from a girl who looks like an owl.” His brown eyes were wide too, but his complexion was much darker than Clair’s medium coloration. He ran a hand over his brown hair and repeated his comment. “Yes, an owl-girl should not ask questions.”
Claire smiled even more broadly. The Beta children called her ‘owl-face’ or ‘owl-eyes’ or some variation of that, but it did not bother her a bit. She could see better than any of them, and the fact that they compared her to some rare bird in their lost habitat was more a status symbol, than an insult.
“Well, Dmitar, you could have gone with your twin brothers, Borko and Jadran, but you came with me,” Claire said with a touch of smugness. “You must like me.”
“Eww, no, well, yes, but…” Dmitar was frustrated. “You could have gone with your family, right? Patricia, Sassa, Liam, Owen, or your mom and her new baby, Alain? Or go with your dad?” Dmitar did not mention other children’s dads, since his own dad had died in Beta. That made him sad.
Clark was tagging along a few steps behind the two other kids. They were somewhat older than he was, but pretty nice to him. He almost laughed as he knew Dmitar was blushing, though Clark could not see it. Yes, they were nice to him. Even though Clark only had three fingers on each hand, and he walked with a clumsy gait, Claire and Dmitar never made fun of him. Clark liked them, and since the wizards had given him a blessing, he had been able to get strong enough to walk with those other children. At least with the ones who accepted him. He said nothing, most of the time, but like to watch the others play. He knew nearly word-for-word what Claire was about to say.
Claire went on, “I suppose I could have gone with my family. What good is a walk around the way with family, when I can be charitable? I certainly could have gone with my family, but I wanted to help you. You Betas need our help so much. Like when Uncle Khin rescued all your people. That was just kindness for the needy.” She was grinning as she said that. “Besides, I know that you like me.”
Clark too smiled, for his prediction was spot-on. Claire had said what he expected. Now, he watched for the increased frustration that would come from Dmitar.
“Oh, well, I maybe should have gone with my brothers. They are not teasers,” Dmitar snapped off. He did like being with Claire, but for some unknown reason, he did not like to admit that. He lived with the Chicken People now, and only rarely did he get to see Claire. She was part of the Goat People, and trading times, or other special events like the memorial service for the Old One, were the rare moments when he could see her. “Oh, why do you have to spoil it with teasing me?”
That comment surprised Clark. The Beta children were harder to predict, but it was not just the frustration. Clark did not expect such a straight-forward question from Dmitar. He wrinkled up his face and thought about what was happening in the conversation. He tried to predict what Claire would say next.
He was about to be horribly shocked.
Claire screamed.
“Oh, come on, do not be mad at me,” Dmitar scolded. “No reason to yell so much.”
“No, there is something down there!” Claire said as she took some deep breaths. She pointed at a chute’s opening in the wall which was bisecting the passageway. “Something nasty went in there.”
“One of those too-big birds you call chickens? They can peek you really hard,” Dmitar said. He wished he had his bow and arrow. He was a fairly good shot and would have liked to bring down a wandering chicken and make it a present for Claire and her family.
“It was not a chicken. It was nothing I have ever seen,” Claire stated with a quivering voice.
“Now, I thought you knew all about this needle ship place,” Dmitar began, but then stopped. The fear on Claire’s face was nothing to be mocked. “I am sorry. We will turn around and go the other way.” He felt for the pocket knife he had brought with him. His mother had forbidden them to bring any real weapons, as they were attending a memorial-style funeral, service. Yet, Dmitar had brought along the folding pocket knife he cherished. His two brothers each had an identical one. The pocket knives had been gifts from Dick and Fedders of the Chicken People.
Before he could open the pocket knife, something struck him from behind. He felt some kind of fur as it shoved him down. He was knocked to the floor, face down in the mushrooms. He rolled over to see a large furry thing grabbing at Claire. It knocked her down, and dashed away, leaping around a corner in the hall. It was way bigger than Claire, with long scraggily gray fur. It reminded him of a dog, sort of, but it was walking on its back legs.
“Claire!” Dmitar yelled and jumped up. He now had the pocket knife’s blade locked open. He stood guard over her as she got to her feet.
Clark had disappeared.
“Clark?” Claire called out as she clutched to Dmitar. “Clark? Where are you?”
“You can see better than me,” Dmitar whispered. “I do not see him anywhere. What was that thing? A dog?”
“I do not see Clark,” Claire sobbed, but snuffled in a breath. “I have never seen anything like that thing before.”
Dmitar pushed her gently back against the wall and stood between her and where the thing had gone. “I read a book about big animals, cougars. Beta had dangerous animals like jaguars, did some of them come here? Maybe a bear? Jackal? Or a black-ear?” His words were pouring out in a frightened babble. “I did not see it very good. What is it? Thylacine?”
“Where is Clark?” Claire demanded. She did not understand the names of the animals Dmitar was talking about. She knew goats, chickens, rats, and cavies, but nothing like what had attacked her. “Did it take Clark?”
A strange and high-pitched growl came from somewhere. It echoed in the corridor. Dmitar felt tears of fear running down his face, but he held the tiny knife before him, and had his other hand on Claire, keeping his body before her like a shield.
“We need to go back. What way do we go?” Dmitar asked. Bring thrown down had rattled his orientation and he was not sure from which direction they had come.
Claire squeezed his arm and pointed. They started to sidle in that direction, but the growling became louder. Then Claire heard the soft pad of steps. “It is coming.”
Shoving her in the direction he thought was safety, Dmitar then said, “Run! I will fight it.”
Claire took off in a stumbling, terrified sprint.
The beast sprang out from the shadows of a doorway. Dmitar jumped to meet it, the tiny knife held directly out in front of him. He wished for a better weapon, like his bow and arrows, but he gripped the pocket knife with both hands and meet the creature’s charge.
With a clawed paw, it swiped the blade to the side, and shoved past Dmitar. It leaped upon the running form of Claire. She fell to her knees, the beast’s large head, and long snout only centimeters away from her golden hair. Its upright, furry ears were pointed forward.
Dmitar regaine
d his balance and jabbed at the thing with his knife. The point sank past the prickly and scratchy fur. The dark beast spun about, and knocked Dmitar down again. He kept jabbing and slashing at the thing as he fell. Its huge eyes looked at him, and he saw his own reflecting in their round sockets. The white teeth shinned and a long red tongue flopped near him. Then, a limb struck him a blow from an unexpected direction. Yet, even as he fell down again, he jabbed with his small blade. He felt it dig into the beast, and some fur was cut loose, yet the knife seemed to do nothing else, even though Dmitar had slashed at the thing with all his eight-year-old might.
From behind the creature, Claire kicked down on one of the beast’s long, clawed foot, but her blows had no effect either. “Get off him!” The attack did nothing but cause the creature to spin around. Its tail struck the wall, and made a thump. Its clawed paw punched out and wrapped around her face. The claws were to either side of her head. Her smoky-gray eyes, the ones as big as an owl’s, rolled back in her head and closed. She slumped down to the deck.
“No!” Dmitar screamed for all his might, and from the deck, plunged the pocket knife straight down and into the closest foot of the animal. The tang of the blade sank all the way up to the bolster, but did nothing. Then his hand was swatted off as one of the upper paws of the beast swiped down on his arm and knocked him away again.
Dmitar rolled up against the wall, trying to escape the beast. Its huge jaws, and brilliantly white teeth, were just above his face, as it leered down at him. In terror, he could not keep looking at it, waiting for the final bite to come. He looked beyond it, and saw Claire crumpled and lying still on the floor. She was not moving.
“Claire!” he cried as a paw slipped over his face. He batted at it with both fists, but it was too strong. His blows were feeble compared to the monster’s strength. Its pointy claws pricked the sides of his head, and a foul stench entered his mouth and nose. It was the last thing he noticed before he passed out.
Hidden inside a ventilation duct, behind a loose grille, standing in a trickling flow of water, Clark watched the whole scene. The beast dropped Dmitar’s seemingly lifeless body, and turned to where Clark was trying to hide. He thought he was concealed and hidden, but the thing knew where he was. Its eyes, gazing down its black-whiskered snout, peered through the slots in the grille. Clark could only see a reflection in those strange eyes. No pupils, no color, just a reflection of the grille and Clark’s own tear-streaked face.
“No muties,” the creature said in a bizarre voice.
It turned and picked up the other two children, one under each arm, and carried them off. The bodies were limp as rags, and the beast disappeared around a corner.
Clark cried for long time over his friends. Then carefully crept out of the duct. Looking around, he saw nothing else, and the silence was testimony against him. In a near panic, he rushed back home as fast as he could. As he hobbled along on his deformed legs, he screamed for help. “A monster took them! Help me! Help! A monster took them!”
Several hours later, after Clark had met with Eris, Monika, and Jerome, another meeting took place. In a hallway, off to the side from the Grand Hall, Khin and Vesna checked their weapons, and continued their discussion. Both were eager to get on the hunt, but disagreed on the equipment they needed. The parents of the missing children, and many others were already searching on the main pathways, hoping to find the children in the more familiar places. A few people thought the children were just playing a game. Others thought the Beta child had just gotten lost, and still others thought Clark had imagined the whole thing. Khin and Vesna had volunteered to go into the little known, and seldom traveled places. Khin had not told the parents, but he had a very bad feeling about what had happened.
“I think we are ready,” Khin said as he slipped his knife into his belt. He had a pouch next to the sheath, and carried a small spear which was only about as long as his forearm.
“You may be ready, but I am not. Not at all.” Vesna had wanted to bring the rifles she was familiar with and which she had used Beta. Khin had objected.
“My Vesna, here in my home, I know what will work and what will not. I have hunted rats, goats, cavies, and even some wild chickens. My weapons will be sufficient.” He looked at Vesna as she shook her head in disagreement. Her red hair flounced around as she did. Khin continued, “Those fine weapons you had, which you so bravely defended the old people with, around that SCU building, well, they are not the best for here.”
“I know you think they are physically too long, and cannot be moved quickly enough,” Vesna replied. “But they pack enough range and power to knock down that monster, whatever it is, from a long distance.”
“Right, but there are few long distances here. Most of the corridors and halls are short, and where there are greater spaces, there might be a child nearby, and we do not want to shoot one of them. So, we use the knives and short spears which are best for here,” Khin answered. “I also have a pouch with these very round balls which are made from steel. I can throw them and hit the monster.”
“My Khin, you know I respect and love you, but you are so stubborn sometimes,” Vesna answered.
Someone called to them from a side passageway.
“We are over here!” Khin answered. “Jenna is coming, she has different kinds of weapons with her.”
“How can you tell?” Vesna asked.
Khin laughed. “I know her voice.”
“No, I mean about the weapons. We cannot see her, so are you smelling something again?” Vesna asked, but smiled as she did.
Laughing, Khin responded. “I am always smelly, or so says my mother. But, I am also using my nose to smell. She has told me, ‘Use your nose, no matter when, in the end you always win.’ She is smart, right?”
“I am not sure about you being always smelly, and that suggestion for you to use your nose, is wise. But your mother is speaking of different things,” Vesna stated.
“Well, then my father says, ‘Eyes and ears are only two, use all your skills, do smelling too.’”
Jenna came around the corner. “I am so glad I caught you both before you left. The other search parties are already on the hunt. Alisa, Dmitar’s mother is frantic, understandably. Only a small bit less frightened is Elsa and Carlos. They know that Claire knows her way around, but they too are very worried. They have each taken a search party in a different direction.”
“They may find them soon,” Vesna said. “I so hope they do.”
“We all hope that. Here, I saved these two for you both.” Jenna held out two holstered handguns. “They are from the roustabouts, and should work very well here in these narrow hallways and spaces. I sense you will need them. Something depraved happened here. I did not want to say that in front of the parents and other children, but I can tell. Clark was not lying when he said a monster took the children.”
Khin stopped laughing. “I know.”
Vesna took the offered handgun and removed it from the holster. “This is a nice weapon. Revolvers are reliable. Khin, this is our answer. Not too long like a rifle, but much more killing power than the knife and stick you are carrying.”
“My dear Vesna, it is a spear, not just a stick. However, I will take that other weapon, just so you are happy,” Khin stated. “But show me how it works.”
Jenna and Vesna explained the operation of the revolver to Khin. He understood it very quickly. After the lesson, he strapped it around his waist, but made sure his knife was not hindered by the holster. He pocketed the additional ammunition which was contained in small devices Jenna called speed-loaders. He had three of those. He saw how it would increase the rate at which the weapon could be loaded.
“The other Beta children are very anxious, and Dewi and Nabila cannot keep them under control all by themselves. I must go to help them. I wish you every luck,” Jenna stated. She began to walk away, and then turned back. “Khin, what was the monster Clark saw?”
“A monster is what a monster is,” Khin stated wit
h a subdued chuckle.
“Bring the children back, please,” Jenna said.
“That is our plan. Khin you know this place, where would a monster hide?” Vesna asked. “Or where would a monster take the children?”
“The parents are checking all the normal places,” Khin answered. “But this is not a normal time. I think we need to look to The Land of Bad Air, the Hallway of Forever, and even the Burning Netherworld. That is where a monster would run away to hide. It could do anything down there.” He tapped the com-link. “Sandie, friend and spirit-ghost?”
“I am here Khin,” Sandie the AI answered.
“Will you be with us for the whole quest? It is a hunting and rescue quest, but without wizards. Will you still be with us?” Khin asked.
The Colony Ship Conestoga : The Complete Series: All Eight Books Page 226
