Colony

by Lori Beery

  Also, he noticed that when the creatures switched on the mountain top, so did the two at the cavern opening. These two events were somehow linked. He had heard nothing that signaled the change, yet it always took place at the same time.

  That meant he had seen forty-four individual creatures. He suspected there were at least forty-four more individuals who covered the day-light hours. He had no idea how many creatures were inside his mountain. He wondered if they were more active during the day. Should I risk conducting my aerial observations during the bright hours? How else would I be able to gather information?

  He had seen that these creatures did not behave like normal tree-dwellers. His mere presence didn’t cause them to freeze in fear. Could I try to communicate with one of them? His mind reeled. Is this a possible course of action? Perhaps?

  ***

  The next several days passed quietly. I saw nothing while on duty or off, which compelled me to log a sighting report. There were no humanoid shadows, no pursuing tree snakes, and no flyer-sized eagles. Part of me was relieved, but the rest of me became more troubled. I began to wonder if I had really seen what I thought I had seen.

  When I was on duty, my fellow guards and I were surrounded by still nights with beautiful, bright stars. The tranquility made it seem like nothing existed beyond our mountain. I felt that we were being lulled into a false sense of security.

  I spent some of my free time trying to spy on the eagle at the mesa where I suspected it might be roosting. I quickly discovered two things. One, I was too far away from the mesa to be effective. And two, I didn’t know enough about the creature to know when to study it. It was entirely possible that it didn’t behave like any of the eagles of ancient Earth. Maybe it did fly over our mountain. Maybe, it was nocturnal, or it was at an altitude beyond our sight. If that were the case, could motion-detecting vid-imagers catch it? I supposed I needed to visit with Dr. Locus. He might let me borrow a few vid-imagers to set up on the roof.

  Before I got the chance to go to Dr. Locus’ lab of my accord, he sent Lloyd to fetch me. As I exited the training room, I noticed Lloyd bouncing from one foot to the other. The expression on his face and rapid head movements told me he was eagerly looking for a particular guard or hunter.

  “Ky,” he called, shooting his hand into the air when he saw me. “Can you come with me to see Dr. Locus right now?” he asked as he approached me.

  “I can come as soon as I stow my gear,” I told him with a smile. I was feeling really good about my growing expertise with the staff. Today, Marta and I had gone through six forms as combatants, and she hadn’t needed to correct any of my motions.

  “I’ll take care of your gear,” Marta said as she took my staff and wrist guards. “You’re going to be a staff expert if you keep working as you are.”

  “Thank you,” I replied, “…on both counts.”

  “You go see what the doctor wants,” she added as she effortlessly handled both sets of gear. Marta moved away toward the armory, gliding effortlessly.

  “Yes, I can come now,” I told Lloyd as I turned to face him.

  “Good!” he responded. “Let’s go!” With that, he headed off at a brisk pace. I easily caught up with him, and we proceeded side by side to Dr. Locus’ lab.

  When we got there, the lab was full. I guessed there were fifty people present. I caught sight of my three other dorm mates and Derrick and made my way to join them. As I looked around, I saw John and Amanda Elm, X-tee, and a few members of the settlement’s ruling body, specifically Madame Elder and Elder Kevin Palm.

  I began to feel a little self-conscious. After all, I had just completed a strenuous training session; I was sure I didn’t smell very pleasant. However, there was nothing I could do about it. I tried to push my embarrassment away and focus on the proceedings.

  There was a discussion already in progress. It sounded like Dr. Locus was presenting his case for an expedition to find out where and why the tree-dwellers were migrating. He had just brought up my sighting report about the tree-dwellers moving onto the rocks north of our settlement.

  “Shouldn’t we be more concerned about the flyer-sized bird?” asked an unidentified male voice. I knew I didn’t know everybody in the settlement, but there certainly seemed like there were quite a few male voices around lately that I didn’t recognize.

  “Oh, we are,” Dr. Locus assured the questioner. “It may be that the bird is the reason the tree-dwellers are migrating.”

  “Doctor, what do you mean?” inquired Elder Palm.

  Chapter 12

  “We know that the tree-dwellers eat leaves, fruits, nuts, and occasionally insects,” began Dr. Locus. “We have not seen a decrease in these commodities, nor have we observed any diminishing in the amount of water available to these creatures. For some unknown reason, they have withdrawn from our mountain. We can document, except for the one family group to our north, that the creatures have vacated this mountain in a radius of eight kilometers.

  “We know they didn’t start their migration when we arrived. The local family groups have been watching us intently. They are curious about us. They don’t fear us, and we have not seen a reason to chase them off. We view each other as harmless.

  “The tree-dwellers only began withdrawing three weeks ago. They have thinned the canopies of their favorite trees in the vicinity and carried those leaves away with them. Then, a week ago, the sighting report of the bird was logged.

  “It is possible the bird feeds on the creatures, and its aerie is here in the Main Cavern. The creatures receding from here suggests they knew the bird would be returning. However, the bird has not made an appearance here at our mountain. At least, no one has logged such a report.”

  “Is there any evidence that the bird eats the tree-dwellers?” asked Madame Elder.

  “We have only found circumstantial evidence,” answered Dr. Locus. “Our vid-imagers recorded changes to their harvesting behavior. Instead of the entire family group actively participating, they restricted the harvesters to one or two adults. The rest of the adults either watched the sky or prevented the young ones from climbing into the canopy.”

  “So, no pictures of the bird hauling a chimp away,” commented another man I didn’t recognize.

  “No, nor do we have any images of the bird,” confirmed Dr. Locus.

  “Dr. Locus, there might be a way to get some,” I said excitedly.

  “Do continue, Ky,” responded the doctor, his blue eyes alight.

  “If we assume this bird has keen eyesight, much keener than we do,” I began, “it is possible that it has flown over our mountain, just at a height too far away for us to see. If we mount several motion-detecting vid-recorders on the roof set at 80 % maximum zoom, we might capture a picture or two of it.”

  “I can make the recorders available,” stated Dr. Locus as he nodded to Lloyd. Lloyd moved away from me, presumably to get the equipment.

  “If the creature has such acute sight, that could explain why no sighting reports have been logged,” commented Elder Palm. “If the Main Cavern is its aerie, why hasn’t it come home?” he asked, turning his attention back to Dr. Locus.

  “I am surprised it has not,” confessed the doctor in a low voice. “The eagles of ancient Earth were very territorial and fiercely defended their nesting sites. But this creature is not acting very much like them or any bird with which I am familiar. We need more information.”

  “I agree,” announced the Madame Elder. “Doctor, please focus your efforts on gathering more data on the bird. That creature could present the biggest danger to us. Furthermore, I will allow an expedition to the ridge north of us to investigate the tree-dwellers who are becoming cave-dwellers. I want to know if the tree snakes are following them onto the ridge and, therefore, may pose a threat to us.”

  “Yes, Madame Elder,” acknowledged Dr. Locus.

  Voices rose around the room. It was impossible to distinguish what anyone was saying until the first, unknown, man’s voice rang out
again.

  “Madame Elder,” he called, “should we get proof that this bird exists, what will be our course of action?”

  “I feel we must learn what we can about this new threat,” she responded. “Also, we must seek a means to defend ourselves should this bird attack us.”

  “Wait, are you sanctioning the building of a catapult or other weapon to mount on the balcony for our defense?” asked Pascal Willow, one of my dorm mates that worked in engineering

  “I am seeking ways to defend ourselves against a possible attack,” replied the Madame Elder. “I would like such ideas presented to the settlement’s council as soon as possible.” She looked meaningfully at Dr. Locus and then swept out of the lab with Elder Palm at her side.

  The lab quickly emptied as people tried to get clarification of the moderator’s words. Before too many minutes ticked by, Dr. Locus, his team, X-tee and I were the only ones left.

  “Well, we are cleared for one expedition,” said Dr. Locus in a quiet voice. “Derrick,” he continued, “I am putting the expedition’s preparations in your capable hands. Ky, have you had an opportunity to make any observations?” His voice took on a hopeful tone.

  “I have,” I answered. “I have located a possible nesting site about thirteen kilometers to the northwest of us. That said, I have not seen the bird. It could be it rests during the day and hunts at night. I don’t know. I hope the vid-recorders will capture its image.”

  “That would be helpful,” agreed Lloyd. “Do you need help setting up the recorders?”

  “The more hands, the better,” I replied. “X-tee, Sir, I’d like to position them around the roof. Will that be acceptable?”

  “Just don’t break any of the solar collectors,” he told me.

  “Don’t worry, Sir,” I informed him. “I’m not going to put them among the collectors.”

  “Why not?” he asked, surprised. “The collectors occupy the highest and biggest area of the roof.”

  “That’s true,” I agreed. “But if this bird ever flew over the collectors, the guards around them would have noticed its shadow. Since no one did, I don’t believe the bird makes it a habit to fly over the collectors. Therefore, I’m going to place the recorders closer to the cliffs.”

  “Ky, that implies that this bird is intelligent,” whispered Lloyd excitedly.

  “Yes, it does,” I responded.

  “Ky?” questioned X-tee. “What aren’t you telling us?”

  “I have no proof of anything,” I told them. “Not only have I not seen it, but I also have not heard it since the night I logged my sighting report.” I hesitated, licking my lower lip nervously before I said, “despite that, I can’t shake the feeling that it is studying us.”

  “The feeling?” asked X-tee frowning.

  “Seriously?” scoffed Lloyd.

  “Yes,” I answered, letting my gaze shift from one to the other. “Let’s get these vid recorders mounted up on the roof. If I’m right, we should get some pictures of it.”

  The two men exchanged a look and then pitched in to gather up the vid recorders. Conveniently, the ten imagers were stowed in their carrying cases. We easily grabbed them up and slung them over our shoulders. This left our hands free to grab the mounting poles which could telescope to three meters. As it turned out, Lloyd and X-tee took care of the poles so that I could grab the stone cutting laser. Then, we headed up to the roof.

  It took us almost two hours to get the vid recorders all set up. I had just finished a final check of the last recorder when it activated. I stared at it in shock for a few seconds before snapping my gaze upwards. The empty, bright, blue sky filled my sight. I searched the expanse for it but saw nothing.

  ***

  The first thing Amerzan noticed as he flew over his mountain was that there was more activity than he had previously seen on its top. There were three extra adult hairless tree-dwellers. They were busy putting long branchless twigs in the rock. There was something odd perched on the top of them. He had no idea what they were.

  As he made his pass, he recognized two of the three creatures. Both of them spent time on the mountain top as part of the groups he had been watching. The small one always went to the edge nearest the northern lake when the dim lights shined. And since he had been observing his mountain during the bright light, he had seen the small one facing his secondary nest. What was it doing? Was it looking for him? How did it know about him?

  Amerzan gave himself a shake. He needed to concentrate on taking in their actions. The time for questioning what he was seeing was for later.

  He cleared his mind, shifting his gaze back to the larger creature he recognized. That one was the walker during the brightest part of the day. It was a leader.

  Suddenly, all three of the hairless tree-dwellers looked up. They stared straight at him, but they didn’t sound any alarm. Did they see me? Perhaps I am too far above them. But why did they turn their eyes upward at that moment?

  Amerzan made two more passes over the mountain. While the three tree-dwellers quickly disappeared into the rock on his last pass, he climbed higher and headed to his temporary roost. There he considered what he had seen.

  ***

  X-tee, Lloyd and I hurried back to Dr. Locus’ lab. Although we had seen nothing, something had triggered the motion detectors built into the vid recorders. Each had been activated one after the other all the way around the rooftop. And then the sequence had repeated. The three of us had watched dumbfounded as each instrument activated. When the vid recorder right beside me activated for the third time, I had sprinted to the stairs into the settlement. Lloyd and X-tee were right behind me.

  As soon as we reached the lab, Lloyd’s fingers danced across the keys of the tablet connected to the vid recorders on the roof. After what seemed like forever, he brought up the images caught by the recorders. There, on the screen, was the bird.

  It was enormous. The wingspan was twelve meters. The wings and tail were covered in feathers while the rest of the body was covered in what looked like hair. The beak was that of a predator, and the talons resembled foldable spears.

  “How can such a huge bird exist?” asked Lloyd in stunned awe.

  “No idea,” I responded, “but there it is. And it looks like it could carry prey the size of a human.”

  “Not a pleasant thought,” remarked X-tee dryly.

  “Let me get Dr. Locus,” announced Lloyd as he rose from his place in front of the tablet. “He needs to see this.”

  While Lloyd went to get Dr. Locus, I turned to X-tee. “So, do you still think this bird is not intelligent? It has been watching us. Thanks to the vid recorders, we have images of it.”

  “That we do,” he agreed. “I’m not sure this is proof of intelligence, but the pictures do prove it has flown over this mountain. That, in itself, represents an increased level of threat.”

  “I don’t disagree with that,” I told him, “but humor me. If you had discovered invaders in your home. What would you do?”

  “Depends on the number,” he began. “If there were one or two, I would openly attack. If, however, there were three or more, then I would have to study them to learn how best to drive them out of my home.”

  “Isn’t that what this bird is doing?” I asked. “He has not forced his way into the Main Cavern. Instead, he spends his time watching us.”

  X-tee frowned at me. “You think this bird can count?”

  “I know this bird has keen eyesight,” I replied. “It is possible he can recognize individuals and figure out that we number more than one tree-dweller family group.”

  Before X-tee could respond, Lloyd and an excited Dr. Locus arrived on the scene. Dr. Locus slid into the chair and began going through the images.

  “Good, God!” he exclaimed. “Are these measurements correct?”

  “Yes, Sir,” answered Lloyd with his head next to the doctor’s, both staring intently at the screen. “I’ve checked them three times, and we set the recorders at eighty percent m
agnification.”

  “My, my,” murmured Dr. Locus. “He’s a very big boy!”

  “He is!” agreed Lloyd. “And he flies like an eagle.”

  “Meaning that he soars with occasional flaps,” clarified Dr. Locus to X-Tee and me. “He uses his tail to steer in circles, which is very eagle-like indeed. And its shape is very similar.”

  “But, how can such a large bird exist?” asked Lloyd for the second time.

  Dr. Locus turned to his assistant. “Lloyd, we are not on Earth. Conditions here are different. We must expect life here to have developed according to other rules than it did on Earth. Here this huge, partially-featured bird exists.”

  “Yes, it does,” stated Lloyd. “Of that, we now have proof.”

  “We do,” said Dr. Locus with a heavy sigh. “And we also have a responsibility.” The doctor shifted his chair so he could sit and look at X-tee and me more comfortably. Lloyd tore his gaze away from the display and turned to face us as well. “Ky, thank you for your idea and its execution,” continued Dr. Locus. “As Lloyd has said, we now have proof of a huge, winged predator. The settlement council will need to be informed.”

  “It will,” agreed X-tee. “Might I suggest copies of the proof be sent to both the Madame Elder and Elder Palm first. Then, please send copies to the rest of the council.”

  “Copies are an excellent idea,” remarked the doctor. “I’ll get a set sent to both the Madame Elder and Elder Palm first, then, to the rest of the council. I think I will give a set to Ross as well. I’m sure the engineers would like to see what they will be defending us from.” Dr. Locus finished his statement with sadness tinging his voice. He shifted his chair back to its original position and gazed at the display. I ventured forward a step.