Colony

by Lori Beery

  “Greetings, Elder Palm,” I said as I extended my hand to him.

  “Greetings, Huntress Oaks,” he responded, a twinkle in his eyes as he took my hand and shook it twice. “It is good to see you up and around.”

  “Thank you,” I told him.

  He nodded to me. Then shifted his gaze back to X-tee. “Please, keep me in the loop,” he said to X-tee.

  “Of course, Elder Palm,” X-tee replied.

  With that, Palm strolled from the room. Once he was out of sight, I turned to X-tee.

  “Do I get a new bow?” I asked him excitedly.

  “Yes,” he answered. “Select one.”

  Before he could change his mind, I stepped up to the row of bows. After a few tests, I choose one to my liking. I picked up one of the strings made to go with the bow. I braced and bent it. It took more out of me than I would like to admit, but I did get it strung.

  “Guess I need to spend more time in the gym,” I declared, breathing harder.

  “Yes,” agreed X-tee, “and the practice range. But according to Dr. Hawthorn, you are coming along nicely. It is important that you keep working but don’t push yourself too hard.”

  “Translation?” I asked.

  “Do what you’ve been doing,” he told me. “Only spend an hour rotating through the weight machines. Keep the load light, like five to ten kilograms. You can increase the weight as you get stronger. After the hour is up, go up and jog around the main cavern two or three times. When you’re done, see how far you can go in ten minutes. Then, repeat at least once. Listen to your body.”

  “OK,” I responded. “When do I get to start practicing with the bow?

  “I thought you would never ask,” he said with a big smile. “Right now. But you are limited to ten practice shots.”

  “Just ten?” I asked incredulously.

  “Just ten,” he repeated firmly. “This quiver has ten practice arrows. You get to shoot each of them once. Understood?”

  “Yes, Sir.”

  As it turned out, shooting ten practice arrows with my new bow did me in. It was difficult to draw and anchor. Both actions required almost all the strength I possessed. By the sixth arrow, my arms were trembling. It was all I could do to release the arrow toward the target. Needless to say, it missed the target circles. Instead, it stuck in the backing board that supported the target.

  After the seventh arrow, I had to stop and stretch the muscles in my arms, shoulders, and back. I was embarrassed that my form had deteriorated so much. The stretching helped to reduce the trembling – a little. My last three shots were poorly executed with equally bad results. Two of them barely impacted the backing board. The last one fell limply to the floor and skidded just short of halfway to the target.

  I was grateful that I had been wearing an arm guard and using a finger tab. Otherwise, both my left forearm and the first three fingers of my right hand would have been devoid of skin.

  “Lots of work to do,” I said, thinking to myself that I was at the pre-beginner stage again.

  “Yes,” X-tee agreed. “But I’m sure you will be sticking the bullseye with all ten of those arrows in rapid succession soon enough. Give yourself the time you need to build up your strength.”

  “Yes, Sir,” I murmured.

  I rose and gathered the arrows, putting them in the quiver that X-tee held out to me. Then, I picked up my bow and started to brace it to unstring it. X-tee stopped me with a hand on my shoulder.

  “Take the bow to your room to unstring it,” he said. “The walk will give you a chance to rest a little before you try it. Once you get the bow unstrung don’t string it until we meet here next week.”

  “Yes, Sir,” I replied relieved.

  “One more thing, Ky,” he told me. “Don’t start your gym work until after lunch.”

  “Yes, Sir.”

  I left the practice range carrying the bow in my left hand. I was still wearing the arm guard on my left forearm. I strolled back to my room, feeling a little depressed, but also a little encouraged. X-tee seemed to think my performance would only improve.

  When I finally got into my room, I unstrung my bow, feeling glad I took X-tee’s advice. Waiting until I got to my room allowed me to unstring the bow on the first try. I’m not sure I could have accomplished the feat at the practice range at all. And he had kept me from embarrassing myself.

  I carefully hung the string from its peg and laid the bow on its shelf. I added the arm guard to the shelf. The finger tab I hung on the peg with the string. Then, I sank to the floor and began doing stretches to relieve the muscle aches from all over my body. After about thirty minutes, I laid still and promptly fell asleep.

  Voices down in the commons awakened me. I climbed to my feet and departed my room to partake of the midday meal. I joined three of my friends at a table.

  “How are you today, Ky?” asked Carl Filbert from directly across the table from me. His brown eyes filled with concern.

  “Feeling a little blue,” I told him honestly.

  “Why is that?” inquired Marta Sequoia from my left. Her blue-black hair swung as she turned to me.

  “My first practice session with my new bow was ugly,” I answered in a sullen voice.

  Marta reached over and gently rolled my left arm to see my forearm. “No string scrapes or bruises,” she commented.

  “I wore an arm guard,” I confided to her.

  “Good thing,” she said, nodding sagely.

  I nodded in agreement and dug into my stew. We ate in companionable silence for a few moments before Carl broke it.

  “What does X-tee have you doing this afternoon?” he asked.

  “Weight training, jogging, and running,” I replied. “What’s on the docket for each of you?”

  “I’ve got weapons training,” said Carl with a smile. We all knew that he was becoming an expert with every weapon he tried. “I get to try chucking spears and flinging a slingshot,” he continued as though this would be his first attempt with them. It was not. He didn’t think they were as elegant as other weapons. “After that, I get to practice my archery.” As he mentioned archery, his brown eyes lit up. The bow was Carl’s weapon of choice.

  I smiled at Carl as Marta replied, “I have guard duty up on the roof.”

  I nodded to Marta.

  “I get to work with Dr. Locus in the lab,” spoke up Ross Beech from my right side. His green eyes danced with excitement.

  “What are you working on?” I asked him.

  “We are going over the video data we’ve been collecting on the tree-dwellers,” he replied happily.

  “Cool,” I told him. “If you can share what you find out, I’d like to hear it. Those things are what alerted me to the presence of the invisocat.”

  “Really?” he asked, seeming stunned. “You’d be interested?”

  “Yes, I would,” I informed him honestly.

  “I will,” he promised with a grin. “I have to get to the lab. I’ll see you later.” He included all of us with the last statement.

  I waved at him as he gathered up his plates. I didn’t say anything because I had just shoveled the last of my stew into my mouth. He smiled and departed.

  “Now, you’ve done it,” remarked Marta, her dark eyes twinkling.

  “Done what?” I asked.

  “Given him an outlet for all his theories.”

  “I’m OK with that,” I responded.

  “Good thing,” she said in an amused voice, “because you are going to hear them all.” She gathered up her dishes and added, “I’ve got to get ready for duty. See you this evening.” She walked away, her movements graceful as ever.

  “Same here,” murmured Carl. “Enjoy your exercising.” He caught up with Marta and walked out with her.

  Alone at the table, I mopped my bowl with a piece of bread. When I finished, I presented myself to the service counter and asked if the group on duty needed any help cleaning up. Next thing I knew, I was up to my elbows in soapy water washing the l
unch dishes. Oh well, I wanted something to do before I went off to the gym. I wasn’t one to wallow in self-pity or loathing. When I felt like I might indulge in such, I volunteered to help do something. That way, I felt too tired or too happy to wallow.

  Chapter 7

  Amerzan enjoyed the feel of the warm sand against his body. Sleeping on the beach was one of his favorite things. The sand was hot. There was cooling water nearby if he so desired. Plenty of tasty food swam just below the waves. Everything he wanted was within easy reach.

  In spite of the surrounding pleasantries, he felt restless. He sensed no danger. There was nothing big enough to warrant his concern. None of the lizards, crustaceans, or birds in the vicinity would approach him while he lived. He didn’t smell attractive to them now.

  He raised his great head and scented the breeze off the sea. It smelled of rain with a tint of something he didn’t recognize. “Is that what makes me restless?” he wondered. He had never been afraid of the unknown. One missed too many opportunities if one didn’t venture forth.

  Amerzan pushed himself to his feet. He spread his huge wings, shifting his stance to allow the breeze to blow the sand from them.

  Again, he sniffed the breeze. The unknown smell still tainted the air. It was mixed with another flavor that reminded him of sky-fire upon the ground. This smell was different than that, though. Perhaps, now was the time for a quest.

  Gathering himself, he jumped into the air, bringing his wings down in a harsh downbeat. Slowly, his laboring wings lifted him into the sky. He maneuvered himself to catch the hot air rising off the beach to help him get aloft. Once in the air, there was no more laboring. Amerzan headed into the wind to locate the source of the unknown scent.

  ***

  It was amazing what three weeks of work could do. I now moved smoothly through the steps of shooting my new bow. I nocked a practice arrow, drew to anchor, found my mark, and loosed in one fluid motion. Even after shooting twenty arrows, my arms didn’t shake. I released my last arrow of this practice session with a triumphant smile.

  Not only was it easier to use my bow, but I was also hitting where I was aiming. Currently, my practice arrows stuck in a spiral from the bullseye out to the edge of the second ring. The spacing between the arrows was pretty consistent. I was pleased with my performance.

  “Nice job,” praised X-tee. “See I told you! Even the pace was pretty good. How do you feel?”

  “Elated,” I replied with a smile. “When do I get to join a hunting expedition?”

  “First things first,” he said, holding the palm of his right hand out to me in a stop gesture. “Next week I am going to give you a shooting practical. If you do well, you’ll be back in the hunter and guard pools. That includes joining us for work-outs and weapons training.”

  “Got it,” I responded.

  “You are welcome to practice shooting, but you will need to do it during an open range,” he told me. “And that is over for the morning.”

  “Ah,” I said. “Time for me to go. The schedule is in the usual place?”

  “It is,” he confirmed.

  I nodded, shouldered my strung bow, and went to retrieve my practice arrows. Then, I made my way to the armory to put the full quiver in its place. Once done, I unstrung my bow. I checked the schedule and saw the range was open between 1400 and 1700 this afternoon. Then, I headed toward my dorm room to deposit my equipment.

  On the way, Ross fell into step beside me.

  “How did your practice go?” he asked.

  “The best I’ve had for a while,” I told him happily. “How has your day been going?”

  “Good,” he replied thoughtfully. “Still looking at videos. I never realized we had accumulated so much data in the short time we’ve been living here in the mountain.”

  “Sounds like you need a break,” I suggested.

  “I do. I was on my way to get a snack,” he responded happily.

  “How about a jog around the main cavern instead?” I asked, extending the invitation.

  “Is that what you’re on your way to do?” he asked nervously, with a deep frown squinting his green eyes.

  “Yes, after I drop off my bow,” I replied. “You can join me if you want.” I fought to keep myself from batting my eyelashes. Ross was not one I wanted to tease in that way because he would believe I was truly interested in redefining our relationship. Friends were as far as I wanted to go with anyone at the moment.

  “No offense Ky, but that’s not what I had in mind for a break,” he told me. “Besides you’d leave me in the dust.”

  “It’s not my plan to race you,” I assured him.

  Obviously torn between wanting a snack or being with me, he exchanged several glances down the hallway toward the commons and at me. His indecision was amusing, but I fought to keep any sign of it off my face. Before he could decide, we arrived at my room.

  “I’ll be back in a second,” I told him as I entered my room. I laid my bow on its shelf, hung the string from its nearby peg, and put my arm guard and finger tab in their place. Then, I returned to the hall. Ross still stood there. “So, are you coming with me?” I asked.

  “Yes,” he announced. “I hope I don’t regret this,” he muttered under his breath.

  “On the way, you can tell me what you are learning about the tree-dwellers,” I told him cheerily.

  His face transformed. His worried expression became one of glee. His green eyes danced as he began talking about the creatures. Apparently, they lived in family groups of no more than ten adults. They were very social and spent a lot of time grooming each other’s fur. He had just begun to tell me what their diet consisted of when we arrived at the front door of the settlement.

  As usual, the blast doors stood open. There were four guards on the door, two inside and two outside. There were four more out in the main cavern. Two were out on the balcony, and two were inside the cavern beside the opening. Nothing had threatened us here, but no one knew what tomorrow would bring.

  “Good morning, Ky, Ross,” greeted one of the guards, a middle-aged, dark-haired man named John. “What brings you to the main cavern?”

  “A leisurely jog,” I replied.

  “Yes, she’s trying to increase my activity levels,” explained Ross.

  John’s face split into a smile as his brown eyes flicked between us several times. “Have a nice jog,” he told us, moving out of the doorway. “Don’t forget to breathe, Ross.”

  “Of course not,” Ross bristled.

  I grabbed his arm and pulled him through the door with me. We turned left at the door and began a brisk walk. After ten meters, we broke into a slow jog.

  “So, what do the tree-dwellers eat?” I asked.

  Ross looked at me with a frown. At my raised eyebrows, he resumed telling me what he had learned about the tree-dwellers’ diet. The creatures relished a certain high-canopy leaf. They liked them so much that they had devised a way to carry their harvest with them. He became so lost in his dissertation that he didn’t notice we had made three circuits of the cavern until we dropped back to a brisk walk on our way to the blast doors from the cavern’s entrance for the third time. When we were just short of the doors, he stopped and looked around with a surprised expression on his face.

  “That wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be,” he informed me.

  “Good,” I responded. “Are you ready to go back to the lab?”

  “Yes,” he said thoughtfully, “I feel a lot more alert.”

  “Glad to hear it,” I said. “I enjoyed hearing about the tree-dwellers. I would like to hear more, but I need to do some running if I want to rejoin the guards and hunters. See you later.”

  “OK,” he said. “See you later.”

  I answered his wave with one of my own and began to run. I let my feet fly. After five circuits, I dropped back to an easy jog. I was definitely breathing hard, but I didn’t feel spent or wobbly like I had on that first morning run with X-tee. It felt so good to be able to m
ove like this again.

  I jogged to the cavern’s entrance and stepped through onto the balcony. I stood for a moment staring out at the land. I marveled at its beauty, grateful to have the privilege to see it.

  Below me, the forest canopy spread out. From this height, it looked like a vibrant green carpet. Its easterly spread was stopped by a mountain ridge that ran parallel to the one on which I stood. To the north, the carpet lay unbroken to the horizon. To the south, the canopy came to a stop on the west side but surged around the lip of the bowl on the east. Once past the bowl, the carpet spread to the horizon, filling the valley between both ridges.

  “It never gets old, does it?” asked Marta’s voice from right next to me. I jumped. I had been unaware of her nearness. She laughed quietly. “Sorry, you are usually more aware of your surroundings.”

  I pressed my lips together before saying, “I guess I have more than archery to practice. I had no idea you were so close,” I told her guiltily. “I allowed the view to occupy all of my attention,” I added in my defense.

  “It can do that,” she agreed readily. “When does X-tee think you’ll be ready for guard or hunter duty?”

  “He says I have to pass a practical first,” I replied. “That will be next week.”

  “Do you know what that will entail?” she asked.

  “He didn’t share.”

  “Hmm, sounds challenging,” she responded. “I’m sure you will do fine.” As she spoke, she touched my shoulder.

  “I hope so,” I said with a small smile. “Well, I guess I better go and get ready to work in the commons. See you later.”

  “Later,” she called as I stepped through the opening into the cavern.

  I made my way back to my room. After getting cleaned up, I went into the commons and helped to prepare the midday meal. When the service was over, I grabbed lunch. Before I had taken two bites, Lloyd approached me with his food-laden dishes.

  “Hi, Ky, mind if I join you?” he asked.

  “Not at all,” I told him, smiling as I took in his black curls and startling blue-green eyes. I had to admit that he was easy on the eyes.