by T. J. Quinn
The fence at the star port divided the ancient city into two parts, old and new. As Jerry led her away, Chelle took one last look at the clean white buildings, with their shining panes of plasti-glass sparkling in the morning sunlight. Compared to the dark, abandoned basement where they lived, it seemed like heaven.
Jerry led her through a maze of piled up bricks, and junk in the back alleys between tattered ancient buildings. Some of them were abandoned, and others were occupied by people like Jerry and Mishy. Mishy didn't recognize any of them because this was a part of the ruins she hadn't visited before.
None of it looked much different from their territory. Dirty streets and buildings, piled with broken bricks, crumbling concrete, human wastes and trash littering the ground on what was left of the streets and sidewalks. These buildings had no power or running water.
Earth had nearly been destroyed in an interstellar war shortly after the first colonial ships reached Aledus about a thousand years before Hankura was born. The planet had succumbed to barbarism after the Procyon Wars. Recovery and rebuilding was slow. Now there were little pockets of high-tech culture interspersed over all the continents that were left. But most people lived in places like she and Jerry or in the wilderness.
After they said good bye to Mommy, Jerry brought Chelle to hide under the shelter of an abandoned stairway in an unfamiliar alley.
"Just wait," he told her. "I'm gonna get them, Mishy. I'm gonna get them for what they done to Mama. I'll come back as soon as I can. If you don't stay here, I won't be able to find you. Understand?" Chelle nodded to him. "Here, take this knife, and get some rocks to keep the rats away, in case I don't get back before dark."
"No, Jerry, don't go. I'm scared. I don't want to be here when the rats come out."
"I gotta go. Don't be a baby. Just do what I told you!" His harsh tone was enough to keep her from making further protest. Whining would only make him madder than he already was, and he'd just yell at her---even if he weren't really mad at her. Chelle waited until he was gone before she let herself sob quietly in fear and loneliness. Mommy was gone, and now Jerry had left her all alone in this scary place. She didn't understand why she couldn't just go home. Jerry just said it wasn't safe anymore. Chelle didn't feel safe here, either.
She'd sat for hours huddled alone in the corner against the cold brick wall---alone except for the rats. She held them at bay with the sharp knife and pieces of broken pavement that she had gathered into a pile before it got dark. She threw the pieces at the rats when they ventured too close. She even killed one of them with the knife. That kept them back for a while. Her body ached with the cold, and her eyelids kept drooping as she longed for sleep. But the rats were waiting for that. Sleep would mean death---endless sleep just like Mommy.
Some of the rats came closer, and the sound of their claws on the pavement opened her eyes wide with terror. Her scream ended in a sob and tears slid down her cheeks as she slashed desperately with the knife.
Jerry, please come back! Please don't leave me here all alone anymore. Mommy can't be gone forever! God, I want her back. I don't want to be here all alone.
She was sure nobody would hear her silent plea. But her mind had sent the cry with such force that someone did 'hear.' Hankura "heard."
Little girl, don't cry. You're not alone. You don't have to be scared of those rats. You can make them go away with your mind. I can help you. Hankura reached back to her for the first time since her thoughts had filled his dreams.
"What? Who are you? Where are you?" She sniffed, wiping her tears away on the ragged sleeve of her tunic. As she stopped crying, she realized the rain was letting up. But it was still cool and damp.
I'm in a space ship orbiting Earth. I felt your fear and loneliness in my dreams. I'm sorry you're all alone and scared. I am scared, too.
Chelle pressed her fists against the side of her head, shaken by the strange buzzing sensations in her head. She squeezed her eyes shut and tried to make it go away.
It's okay. It feels funny the first time. But I can't hurt you. I don't want to hurt you. Don't be scared.
"What are you doing? Who are you?" she demanded. Why can't I see you?"
I'm Hankura from the Aledan Colony. I'm thinking to you from a space ship.
"I'm Michelle," she said. "Thinking to me? H-how?"
I'm a Psion, and so are you. Anyway, you thought to me first.
"I did?" Chelle frowned. "How? I never did it before."
I'm not sure. Most kids can only think to people who want them to. You just did it---maybe 'cause you're so scared and sad. Maybe 'cause I was asleep, and I wasn't guarding my thoughts very well. Didn't you ever think to anyone before?
"No. I don't know how."
Yes, you do---at least to me. I can be your friend, and you won't really be alone. He offered.
Chelle took her hands away from her head and opened her eyes. It still felt strange to have the thoughts of another person flowing into her mind, but it felt good, too. Hankura was nice, and he seemed to like her. She didn't feel so scared and alone anymore. "You said you'd help me make the rats run away?"
Yes. Think about how scared they make you. Pretend that there is a pipe going into their heads that leads all the way to their brain. Pretend you’re scared feelings are water, and make it run through the pipe into their brain.
Chelle closed her eyes and tried. "I can't."
Think harder. Think of nothing else but piping your fear into their minds. Try again.
She did. The sound of scurrying clawed feet on the concrete made her open her eyes wide. "I did it! I did it!" she cried triumphantly. She laughed aloud. "Can I do that with people---like the men who killed Mommy?"
It's against Aledan Law.
"Overlord Law?"
Aledan Law.
"That doesn't count here. Show me."
I can't. I promised Mother I wouldn't ever do that again. Somebody might hurt you if they ever found out you could do that. Besides, your psi won't be strong enough until you grow up.
"Oh." Chelle was a little disappointed, but her lack left her no worse off than she was. "Are you going to come down here?"
I wish I could. I have to go to school on Velran. My parents don't want me anymore, so they're sending me there.
Michelle looked skyward as his thoughts touched her mind. She could feel that he was scared and alone, too. “My parents are dead," she said aloud. "Jerry's gonna kill the man who did it. When he's done, he's gonna come back and get me. That's why I have to stay here---so he can find me. But this place is scary. Will you think to me until he comes back?"
Okay. Where I'm going is scary, too. There are lots of ugly aliens, and I don't know anybody there.
"Do they have gangs and Overlords?"
No, it's a school. Mother is making me go there to learn the Patterns of Insight---Wholaskan rules guiding the use of psi---so I won't hurt Normals when I think to them.
"But you're not hurting me."
'Cause you're a Psion, too. But, you'd better not let anyone know or they might send you away to Velran, too.
"Could I bring Jerry?"
Probably not. They wouldn't let me bring Trevin and Capra. I have to go alone.
"Well, there are probably other kids like you at Velran. You won't be alone.
Maybe, but the teachers are aliens with ugly fangs and scary faces. My use-to-be friends said they eat people.
"Dead people or live people?"
I don't know. They probably lied anyway. After their parents found out I'm a Psion, they weren't allowed to play with me anymore.
"Rats eat people here, sometimes dead ones and sometimes live ones. They wanted to eat me until you showed me how to make them go away."
You should be able to do it by yourself now. If you knew how to use your powers, you could read people's minds and know if they are looking for you. Then you could hide better so you wouldn't have to make them go away.
"Do they teach you that on Velran?"
&nb
sp; They teach everything there, and they have a special school for human Psions.
"I wish I could go to school with you. I wouldn't be scared if you were there, and we would probably make friends with other kids like us."
I wish you could come, but they won't let me come and get you. When I grow up, I'll come back and teach you the things I learn. I promise.
Michelle sighed. She knew he meant it, but she didn't believe it would really happen. Daddy promised he would come back, and he never did. Mommy promised she would come for her, and she never did, either. She didn't believe Jerry would ever return. Why should she believe Hankura? Maybe he wasn't even real.
She raised her eyes to the morning sky, wishing she could go with him.
Someday, I'll take you there---or maybe Aledus. I promise.
"But, how will you find me?"
Psi. I’ll find you with psi.
The sun's rays peeked gradually over the towering ruins of the ancient city through the mist rising from the wet streets. Michelle stirred in her sleep and brushed at the big black fly buzzing over her stringy red hair.
"Mishy? Where are you, kid? Mishy!" The impatient sound of her brother's voice registered in her mind, and she opened her eyes and blinked.
"Here, Jerry. I'm here," she called softly and strained to hear the sound of his footsteps. She sensed his nearness long before he found her hiding place. By then, she had turned her attention elsewhere.
"I have to go, Hankura---and pretty soon, I won't be able to hear your thoughts anymore. But it's okay. Jerry's here, now. I'm not scared anymore."
Vaguely, she saw Jerry frown as he hunkered down under the stairway in front of her and stared at her. After a moment she focused on his face and smiled sheepishly.
"Mishy---who were you talking to? Are you all right?"
"I'm okay. I was just talkin' to Hankura. He's leavin'. His parents sent 'im on a star freighter from Aledus to a school on Velran."
"What?" Jerry raked a bony hand back through his unruly red hair. "How can he be on a star ship when you were just talkin' to 'im?"
"Well---he wasn't here exactly---not like you're here. I heard what he said in my head." Michelle touched her temple. "Psi---he said. He helped me make the rats go away, too."
"Who told you that word---psi?"
"He did."
"And I suppose he killed that rat over there, too."
"'Course not." Michelle chided. "I told you---he wasn't really here. I killed that rat with your knife."
Jerry looked at the dead rat and the bloody dagger on the ground beside her then grinned and pulled Chelle close.
"You did well, kid." He hugged her fiercely. "I'm sorry I left you alone so long, but I had to."
"I wasn't alone. Hankura was here---sorta."
"Ah---sure, kid. If you say so." Jerry crawled further under the stairway with Michelle under one arm. He looked tired. She was tired, too, after staying awake all night. It was a little warmer now that the sun had come up, but she had still felt cold until Jerry cuddled her close to his hard, wiry body.
"Jerry?"
"What?"
"Is Mommy really gone forever? Forever?" Her voice trembled on `forever.’
Jerry's arms suddenly squeezed her too tightly, and she groaned. He loosened his hold, but he was trembling. It was a long time before he answered.
The bittersweet memory only drove the painful reality of Kaara's lifeless body deep into her soul. Chelle wept inconsolably, clutching Kaara tightly. Sweet Mother of Life, how could she be dead when their lives had been so full of promises. How could this be?
Eventually, Chelle sensed Luran and Tira beside her, weeping with her for the gentle Aledan who had only wanted to be free of the restrictions to psi-paths on Aledus. After giving Chelle some time to say good-bye, they gently took Kaara's lifeless body from her arms. Luran covered the body with a ragged blanket while Tira urged Chelle to her pallet. The two women sat there huddled in each others arms until Chelle sobbed herself to exhaustion and drifted into a numb and dreamless sleep.
"Murderers! Filthy murderers!" Luran cried and pounded her fists against the floor beside the body. As she shed bitter tears, two of the others came to comfort her. "They're going to kill us all with their sadistic games. We've got to get out of here. I don't want to die like Kaara and Gem."
"We don't either," murmured Dana. "What can we do? We don't have any weapons."
"Then, we'll get some. Somehow, we have to get some," she vowed.
CHAPTER FIVE
Escape
Hankura's dreams took him far from the reality of his captivity. In his dreams, he was on Aledus with Chelle at the Tharn Sea.
A soft purple hue spread through the long thin clouds that stretched across the sky and the sun shown as a lavender ball sinking toward the Tharn Sea. Low wavelets rippled the salty water and rolled gently toward the shore, lapping at two naked lovers entwined in the sand. Only the hovercraft fifty meters away revealed human presence on an otherwise deserted stretch of beach.
"You know this is crazy, don't you?" Hankura murmured, exploring the curves of her face with his eyes. He felt such love in her gaze, in her touch, and in the passion of their mating. He didn't really care that they had no blanket and that they were covered with sand.
Such a moment should last forever ... and it would, if only in his thoughts.
Chelle laughed softly, caressing the back of his neck with her fingers. "I suppose that making love in the sand has some drawbacks---but it was what you were thinking." She reached to brush a bit of damp sand from his shoulder.
Ah, Hankura. This place is more beautiful than all of Salla. Nothing men have made could match what is already here. I would like to stay here all night.
"Darling, there isn't a dwelling for klicks." he pointed out. "Making love in the sand is one thing---"
"So? Have you never slept under the stars before? I have missed it. But you're right. We could come back another time and bring at least a blanket."
Hankura smiled and pulled her closer, molding her body to his. Softly, he kissed her mouth, savoring the caress of her lips on his own. It's getting cool. We'll have to go soon.
Ah, but you are so warm. Chelle moved her hands sensually over his shoulders. She kissed his throat and hugged him tightly, almost fiercely. I love you so much, Hankura. Sometimes, it scares me how vastly empty I would be without your love, without the joining of our thoughts.
My darling Chelle, I never really understood love until I knew yours. I am still amazed that you look to me with such tenderness and respect. You find strength inside me that I never knew I had. How awesome and beautiful this flower is inside us, an exquisite madness that consumes us.
He turned on his back with the warmth of her body to shield him from the ensuing coolness. With one hand, he stroked the soft curve of her buttock, and he used the other to push her wet hair away from her face. "The sun has set. We should go now, love."
"Before I can tempt you to make love again?" she laughed softly and gave his mouth a quick touch with her own.
A smile tugged at the corners of his mouth, and he framed her face with his hands. I am already tempted, but we would be much more comfortable sharing a nice warm bath back in our dome.
"That sounds lovely. But, can we swim for just a few more minutes to get the sand off before we put on our clothes?"
"Sure." He pressed her from him so she could get up. Then Chelle took his hands and helped him up after her. As they brushed the sand from each other, they were drawn irresistibly into another torrid embrace.
After a few minutes, Chelle broke the mood, jabbing him playfully in the ribs and running into the water. She laughed and splashed water at him as he chased her.
"Chelle!" He lunged for her and caught her with one arm. His momentum knocked her off her feet, and they both went under the water for a few seconds then bobbed to the surface. "Chelle, it won't help you to shield your intentions when you get that gleam in your eyes."
&nbs
p; "But you love it," she giggled and wrapped her arms around him.
Hankura laughed and lifted her into his arms, carrying her from the water back to the rock where they had left their clothes. Shivering in the cool night breeze, they shook off the water and dressed quickly, then climbed into the air-wedge.
He set the controls and started the power pack. The craft lifted into their air and turned 180 degrees in heading from west to east. It began moving at a steadily increasing rate of speed toward their home on the far side of Salla, about 1500 klicks from the eastern shore of the Tharn Sea.
Once the craft was moving, Hankura cuddled Chelle half on his lap, with her legs stretched out across the other seat. They shivered together until the inside temperature reached a comfortable level.
"Let's come back here again---before we begin the routine of my studies and your work," she murmured, snuggling close in his embrace. I'm afraid if we don't come back before that, we'll never come here again.
You may be right. We can come back if you like, and we'll bring a blanket and some supplies.
That would be lovely. Chelle smiled sleepily and reached up to touch his face in a familiar caress. Her eyelids drooped, and she drifted contentedly to sleep before his eyes.
She is like a wild thing, he thought with a stab of conscience, watching her beloved face so vulnerable in sleep. The first day they spent together on Earth was wild and free like this day. So many times they had made love in the cool moss under the trees.
Like Aledus, Earth was also a world with many faces. They might have been free forever there in the mountain wilderness. Hankura would never know. He did know that freedom would only come to them on Aledus in stolen moments such as these.
His mouth tightened ruefully as his eyes fell on the red and blue patch affixed to her sleeve. Take her from Aledus. An inner voice urged him. Don't let this world destroy what you hold precious in your life.
