“It would be better news if the antidote worked in here,” Courtney said.
All eyes went back up to the green cloud that was dropping ever closer. Boon stood near Kasha. The two exchanged nervous looks. Courtney walked to Bobby and took his hand. Bobby gave her a weak smile and squeezed. Mark stood on Bobby’s other side.
“We tried,” he said.
“I know,” Bobby agreed.
The group continued to stare up at the sky. It was an eerie feeling, since the joyous sounds of the celebrating gars acted as a backdrop. The happy music didn’t fit with the reality that every living being in Black Water was seconds away from death.
The green cloud fell gently toward the ground. The Travelers and the acolytes waited. And waited.
“Breathe deep,” Gunny said somberly. “The faster the better.”
Gunny’s suggestion had the opposite effect. Everybody held their breaths. The water from the misters dripped into their upturned eyes, but nobody looked away. If these were their final moments of life, they wanted to make them last.
Mark said softly, “Is… is it getting brighter?” Nobody reacted.
Above them the green blanket seemed to be a bit less dense.
“It is!” Courtney shouted.
“It’s breaking up!” Boon shouted.
Seconds later the unmistakable shape of the sunbelt could once again be seen. And felt. Light was coming through.
“Hobey!” Spader declared. “The poison’s getting eaten up when it hits the mist!”
In a matter of seconds, the sky went from dark green, to lighter green, to vapor white, and finally… to blue.
“Hoooweeee!” Gunny shouted, and spun around in a little dance. It was the first time Bobby had seen him happy since they left the Earth territories. “We’re alive! Black Water is alive!”
Everyone had different reactions. Gunny danced in the rain like a happy scarecrow. Aron watched him with a frown of confusion. Fayne thought they were all crazy and left to go back to her post.
Spader ran to Courtney and gave her a big hug, spinning her off her feet. “We did it,” he shouted with joy. “We beat him!”
Mark finally let his guard down. Now that the pressure was off, he couldn’t help himself. He cried.
Boon and Kasha’s reactions weren’t as huge. The acolyte touched his Traveler on the shoulder and said, “Seegen was right. You were the one.”
Kasha gave him a sad smile.
Rather than joining in, Bobby chose to walk away from the group and watch the happy gars who continued streaming into Black Water. Their celebration continued at full throttle, getting bigger as more gars arrived.
Gunny approached Bobby and watched the festivities for a few moments, then said, “How does it feel to witness the birth of a new civilization?”
“It’s awesome,” Bobby answered. “I’m happy for them. I’m pretty happy for us, too. It’s good not being dead.”
The two chuckled.
“We did the right thing, Bobby. Especially after what happened on Veelox. Eelong is safe. Saint Dane won’t have his next territory.”
Bobby let that sink in a moment, then said, “You’re right. We didn’t have a choice. But this war isn’t over. I’m just worried about what we might have to do to beat him next time.”
Gunny nodded thoughtfully. “I better go inside and figure out how to explain this all to Aron.”
Gunny left Bobby alone with his thoughts. They had beaten Saint Dane. Again. Eelong had reached its turning point and all signs now indicated a bright future for the territory. There was still work to be done. The rift between the gars and the klees wouldn’t be mended easily, but Bobby felt sure that without Saint Dane around to mess things up, it would be possible. Yet Bobby was still troubled. Saint Dane had dared Bobby to stop him. He went so far as to tell Bobby exactly what his plan was for Eelong. That’s how confident he was that his evil plan would succeed.
But it didn’t. Bobby beat him. It took the help of Mark and Courtney, acolytes from a different territory, but they saved Eelong from destruction. Bobby asked himself if that was all there was to it. He wanted to believe it was true. Certainly there was plenty of proof in front of him. The oppressed race of gars was not only safe, they had the chance to save all of Eelong from starving. It seemed so right.
Yet Bobby didn’t feel right.
He watched the joyous gars, trying to draw proof from the scene that all was well. They were dancing in the jammed streets in the most amazing street party Bobby had ever seen. Everyone had a smile on his face and a happy tear in his eye. All but one person.
It was a little, blond girl who looked to be no more than five years old. She stood alone, on top of one of the huts. She stood out from the others in that she wasn’t dancing or singing or hugging any of the gars. She looked strangely familiar, but Bobby didn’t know why. He took a few steps closer to get a better look, when the little girl turned and stared at him.
Bobby stood stone still. He remembered her. She was the little girl who welcomed him when he returned to Black Water. She had stepped out from the crowd of gars arid handed him a white flower. Bobby remembered the flower, and he remembered her eyes. They were blue. Piercing blue. And as she looked at him now, her blue eyes seemed sharper than he remembered. More intense. It was like she was looking right through him.
A cold chill crept up Bobby’s spine. His mind went to a place he didn’t want it to go. But he had no choice, because a moment later the little girl started to laugh. It wasn’t a happy laugh. It had a touch of lunacy that cut through Bobby’s soul.
The little girl called out to him. She said three words. Three words that meant nothing to any of the gars who danced beneath her. They meant nothing to most every living being on Eelong. But it didn’t matter. The words were meant for Bobby, and Bobby alone. When he heard them, his knees went soft.
The little girl cried out, “On to Zadaa!”
“Saint Dane!” Bobby shouted and ran for her. But when he reached the hut and climbed on top, the little girl was gone.
EELONG
(CONTINUED)
Gunny was right. They had witnessed the birth of a new civilization.
Once the multitude of gars completed their journey to Black Water, their hosts took on the huge task of settling them down, giving them a place to sleep, and providing meals. The logistics were staggering, but the Black Water gars had been preparing for years. They were ready. The bigger challenge would come next, as they worked to educate their primitive cousins and set them on a course toward a civilized life.
But this alone wouldn’t be enough to cure Eelong. The gars still had to confront their enemies, the klees. Though some gars wanted revenge for the history of horrible treatment, those with a larger vision understood that for Eelong to prosper, the two races had to coexist.
Gunny and Bobby went a long way toward mending fences by explaining to Aron how one single klee was responsible for the attack on Black Water. Timber. They convinced him that once Timber was thrown out and the klees were shown how the gars could help end the food problem on Eelong, the klees would no longer feel threatened and begin to look at the gars as equals. It was a good theory, one that Aron hoped would prove true.
Aron never told any of the gars how close they had come to destruction. He wasn’t entirely sure he believed it himself. He wanted to look forward, rather than worry about the past. Aron would prove to be a wise leader. But the task still remained to confront the other side-the klees.
That job tell to Kasha and Boon. The Travelers and the acolytes made the long journey back to Leeandra,