Final Quest (8 page)

- 18 -

WALLS OF HISTORY

“My name is Stim. You are a Cantil.”

“Yes, I am a Cantil,” Capurni says.

Cantil, I think. I have never heard that word before.

“Where did you come from?” the wounded creature asks. “Cantils no longer exist.”

As Capurni hears these words, he gasps in pain. “Oh no,” he moans. “Oh no.”

Tears form in Capurni’s eyes.

“Stim, what happened to the Cantils?” Capurni asks as he wipes his tears with his slender arm.

“They were extinguished by the Zelareans. How is it possible that you survived?” Stim struggles to say, the words slowly tumbling out of his mouth. “I have seen drawings of Cantils on our walls of history.”

“Walls of history?”

Stim closes his eyes. I don’t know if he’s dead, or not.

“Please Stim, don’t die. Where are the walls of history that you mentioned?”

Stim’s eyes flicker for a moment.

The dying creature tries to form a word but his mouth quivers and only a faint mumble comes out.

“Stim, I can’t hear you. Please tell me again,” Capurni says as he moves closer to the feeble being.

Stim tries to talk, but his voice is a hollow echo.

“Please…” Capurni says.

“The caves,” Stim hoarsely punctuates the air with his last breath.

Stim is dead.

Even though I never knew this being, I feel a sense of loss. Stim is the victim of a senseless action. It appears that he was slaughtered for the pleasure of more powerful beings who were safe and secure in a flying object.

Killing? Aggression? Are these constant throughout the universe? Is there a world without death? Without wars? Without senseless killings? What reason could there possibly be for every microbe to be constantly in a battle to survive?

As Capurni turns to me, tears are flowing freely down his cheeks.

“How could the Zelareans do this to a helpless creature? And how could they exterminate my complete race?”

“The Cantils?” I say.

“Yes. My tribe were the Cantils. They no longer exist on Drapesia. Why would the Zelareans do this? Why would any race want to annihilate another race?”

Capurni begins to stand, but then falls to his knees.

“We’ve got to find the caves that Stim mentioned,” he says.

I place my hand on Capurni’s shoulder. He has just found out his entire tribe of ancestors on Drapesia were killed. I can’t imagine what it would be like if everyone of my race was slaughtered. I can’t help but think of the Holocaust. That is the closest my mind can come to picturing one race trying to exterminate another. Why? What is it inside a human that kills for reasons beyond obtaining food? What purpose does it serve in the survival of any race to slaughter innocent people?

As I attempt to console Capurni, Jamie unexpectedly says, “You’ve got to see this.”

“What?” I ask as I step towards him as he stares intently at the screen on his spy-pad. “What do you see?”

There’s a city that looks like it came out of a science fiction novel.

“Capurni, I think you should see this,” I say. “The nano-drone that Jamie sent followed the flying object back to a city.”

“What is it?” Capurni asks, although it’s obvious that he’s grieving.

“It looks like a futuristic city,” I say. “The flying object must have returned back to its homeland and now we’re seeing pictures of this civilization.”

Capurni ambles over to us.

“Zelares,” he says. “That must be Zelares.”

I remember that Capurni told us that the small dot on the horizon was likely Zelares.

“Their world looks very advanced,” Jamie says as he tilts the spy-pad screen towards Capurni.

I’m thinking the same thing. The world we are looking at appears to be far more advanced than anything in my own world. I don’t see any roads or cars although I see what look like silver tubes crisscrossing in many different directions. I guess that these must be for transportation, but I can’t see what might be traveling inside them. The outer surface of the buildings looks like dark glass, but it’s really difficult to be sure. The most peculiar thing I notice is that I don’t see any people. Where is everyone?

Unexpectedly, the picture goes dark.

Jamie slides his finger across the spy-pad. Nothing happens.

“Maybe it’s too far away now to send the images back to us,” Jamie says.

An eerie silence descends around us.

“Something is wrong,” Capurni whispers.

I shudder.

“There!” Jamie exclaims.

I follow his outstretched hand that’s pointing in the distant sky.

At first I think I see what appears to be a flock of birds. Then I realize I’m not looking at birds; I’m looking at five or six flying objects that are definitely not birds. The objects are flying in a formation like a squadron of fighter jets.

“They’re coming to get us,” Capurni states convincingly. “We’ve got to get out of here.”

“Touch me,” I order.

Capurni and Jamie reach out to touch my arms.

“Sandarium, my basement.”

- 19 -

ZELARES

After we arrived back at my house from our adventure on the island of Elpis on Drapesia, I asked Drew, Michael and Jasmin to come over.

Michael arrived within fifteen minutes. Drew and Jasmin were here within an hour.

With this being Capurni’s first time on our planet, he’s intrigued by everything he sees.

I provided some details of our journey to Drapesia to the others. We’re currently watching the video from the nano-drone. It’s playing on my basement big screen TV.

“Looks like a futuristic city,” Michael says. “Like Star Wars, or something like that.”

“Where are the people?” I ask, remembering I asked the same question when we were on Drapesia.

“Those tubes must transport people from place to place,” Jamie says as he points at several long winding silver tubes that are connected to various structures.

Most of the buildings in the video are covered in what looks like glass. Unlike our cities where the tallest buildings tend to be be clustered together in the central part of the city, the layout of the city we are looking at is the opposite. Smaller buildings, but bigger than a normal house in my world, sit in the center of the city. Moving outwards from the center, the buildings gradually get higher until the very highest structures at the edge of the city.

“The top of the buildings are sloped,” Michael observes. “They appear to be made of dark glass.”

“Maybe the city depends on solar energy,” Jamie says. “The buildings are sloped so that each roof gets the maximum exposure to the sun.”

Capurni slides across the couch he’s sitting on and snatches a chip from a bowl.

“Not bad,” Capurni says as his munches on the chip. “Not bad at all.”

We laugh.

“But I’m guessing that there is no nutritional value in these chips.”

We laugh again.

“There might be another reason for the tallest buildings being located around the edge of the city,” Michael say, his eyes glued to the images of the futuristic city on the screen.

“What could the reason be?” Capurni asks, in between his snacking on his new favorite food.

“Its design is no different than a medieval town,” Michael says.

“Medieval town? What’s that?” Capurni asks.

“Hundreds of years ago before we had technology and modern cities, we had a period of time that is known as the medieval age. Many of the ancient towns that were constructed during this time had massive walls surrounding them to prevent their enemies from being able to attack the people inside the towns. Perhaps the main reason the tallest buildings are around the outside of the city we are looking at in Zelares is that they are like a medieval wall protecting the rest of the city from any enemies who might attack. In fact, the closer I look at the pictures, the more they look like a huge wall surrounding the inner part of the city.”

“Interesting theory,” Capurni replies. “If you are correct, this would imply that there are other people still living on some of the other islands on Drapesia. Other people that the Zelareans want to keep away from their city.”

Michael points the remote at the TV. With the touch of a button, he starts the video once again at the beginning.

As the video starts, there is the flying object that still reminds me of a small jet.

“At this point, the nano-drone is following the object,” Jamie says as he narrates what we’re watching. “Next, I zoomed in for a close-up.”

On the top of the object is a small dome like a cockpit cover. There are the heads of two beings inside the aircraft.

“They both look like Santtonnice after he changed back into that spider-like creature,” Michael says.

I shudder at the mention of Santtonnice.

“Next, I maneuvered the nano-drone so that we would have different views of the object,” Jamie continues.

“Stop there,” Capurni says.

A picture of one of the beings inside the flying object fills our screen. The being has bulging eyes. I remember that Santtonnice’s eyes, when he changed into the spider, actually swiveled independently of each other. Its forehead and jaw are wide giving the face a square appearance. The top of the head, having no hair, is more flat than round. At first I don’t think it has a nose, but then I see several small holes above its mouth. There are no visible ears although I see a narrow slit on the side of the head that is facing us.  Its lips are thin.

“That is definitely a Zelarean,” Capurni says. “The Zelareans were one of the seven tribes who lived on Drapesia. Although Zelares was a prosperous island, they lacked the means to develop their own food. Food was created on the other islands and shipped to Zelares. When climate change hit, there was a shortage of food. The Zelareans wasted no time in attacking other tribes to take whatever food they had remaining.”

“And the day came,” Michael says, “when things got so bad that Kienda fled Drapesia with the emerald.”

“Yes. After Kienda left, we have no record of what happened next. Now I know that one of the islands on Drapesia that was once barren has turned into a tropical paradise. I also know that Zelares has continued to prosper. Unfortunately I also know that my tribe, the Cantils, no longer exists.”

No one responds to Capurni.

Michael starts the video again.

Laser-like beams are shooting from  openings on the bottom of the flying object.

“They remind me of the attack from the chromidians as we were trying to reach the Land of Shade last year,” Jasmin says.

“Who were they attacking?” Michael asks.

Capurni snatches the last chip from the bowl on an end table.

“They weren’t attacking us,” Jamie says. “We heard a crashing of animals through the heavy vegetation. There were horrifying cries from the fleeing creatures. As the beams of light burst around us, we hid under some large leaves on several plants.”

“After the flying object left, we discovered a wounded creature, actually some type of being,” I say.

Michael advances the video to show a picture of the wounded animal.

The being has a body similar to a tiger, but its face is nothing like a tiger. It has two elongated eyes on the side of its head. There are small antennas sticking out of its head.

Capurni says. “In the various books that my ancestors wrote about Drapesia, I don’t ever remember seeing a picture or reading a description of a being that looked like this.”

“Did it communicate with you?” Michael asks.

“Yes,” Capurni replies. “Somehow he recognized me as being a member of the Cantil tribe, one of the seven original tribes in Drapesia. Then he told me that my tribe no longer exists.”

Capurni bows his head. He looks like he’s suffering.

Jamie whispers to Michael to stop the video. I agree with his suggestion. Watching the rest of the video might be too stressful for Capurni.

After fighting to gain his composure, Capurni continues, “When I asked him how he knew I was from the Cantil tribe, he said something about drawings in a cave.  He used the words ‘walls of history’.”

“Like cavemen drawings on the walls of caves,” Michael says.

“What?” Capurni says.

“Before recorded history in our world,” Michael says, “the most primitive of our people created drawings on the walls of caves that tell us a little about their way of life. Perhaps in Drapesia, some beings kept a record of what was happening by making drawings on the walls of caves.”

“I need to find these caves,” Capurni says.

- 20 -

RETURN TO DRAPESIA

Finding ourselves on a white sandy beach that stretches as far as I can see is more like a vacation than another mission.

“It fabulous,” Jasmin says as she digs her toes into the warm, white sand. A breeze from the ocean blows her long black silky hair.

I picture her in a bikini, walking along the beach like a model. While Michael’s eyes are glued to her, I notice that Drew isn’t even looking at her.

Drew is staring at his gun. I can’t believe he brought it with him. I can’t imagine that his gun will be of any value if we’re attacked by the Zelareans.

“If this is Drapesia, I think I’d like to live here,” Jasmin says, her face radiant in the sun.

I smile in agreement at her comment. The beach on the island of Elpis is absolutely spectacular.

Within the past hour, back in my basement, we decided to come to the island of Elpis on the planet Drapesia. I remembered seeing the beach from my earlier visit to the island with Jamie and Capurni. Thinking that the beach would be safer than the tropical jungle, we used my emerald to come here.

“I think we should get away from the beach as quickly as possible,” Capurni says. “If we have any enemies, it will be too easy for them to spot us if we stay here in the open. Once we get into a location where we can hide, we can use the emerald to see if we can locate any caves.”

We follow Capurni without questioning his wisdom as he begins towards a wall of vegetation. The beach is so wide that it’s going to take us a few minutes to even reach the jungle. I suspect the jungle will confront us with new dangers.

The beach looks like it belongs in a travel brochure for an idyllic vacation destination. We take our shoes off to enjoy the warm sand on our bare feet.

The last few weeks have been filled with such turmoil that I’m beginning to look for danger even when it’s not present. Drew has moved ahead of Capurni and is now leading us towards the jungle, a gun swinging at his side in his hand. I have an uncomfortable feeling. There’s something eerie about the solitude as we continue to walk across the soft sand that is beginning to feel hotter.

Although there’s no reason for me to be afraid, my knees are trembling. The gorgeous white sand feels uncomfortably warm on my bare feet. I’m beginning to sweat. We’re all overdressed, even though we’re in jeans and T-shirts. We should have worn shorts.

Jamie and Michael put their shoes back on. I do the same. The sand is getting too hot to walk on it in bare feet.

Suddenly I hear an unusual noise to my left. It sounds like a muffled vacuum cleaner. As I turn towards it, a hideous shape emerges from the sand.

I fall backwards trying to get away from it. The moment my body hits the sand, it feels like I have fallen into a frying pan. The heat penetrates my clothes.

Jasmin shrieks.

The creature that is rising from the sand has five ferocious heads at the end of long necks. It’s as though each of the heads is dangling on the end of a rubber hose.

I try to lift myself up from the sand. I can’t move. I panic. It feels like something in the sand is holding me.

“Help!” I scream. “Something is attacking me.”

Jamie is the first to arrive to help me.

It’s no use. Something below the surface of the sand has me in its grip as though I’m caught in quicksand. It’s beginning to pull me down into the sand.

Jamie grabs my hands. Michael arrives to help.

I’m being sucked downwards.

An ugly cry reverberates around me.

The monster that emerged from the sand is slowly moving toward us. Green saliva is oozing from each of its mouths. Although I can’t see the lower part of its body, the sand is erupting in front of the frightening creature as it moves. There’s a disturbed trail of sand leading directly from the beast to me.

“It must have a long arm under the sand that has caught you,” Michael says.

“Emily, use your emerald,” Capurni shouts.

I tug my hands away from Jamie and grab my emerald. The lower half of my body is now under the sand.

A gunshot splits the air.

Drew fires his gun again and again.

One of the heads on the hideous creature jerks backwards in pain.

Drew must have hit it.

Unfortunately, this seems to have made the monster angrier. I feel a huge jerk downwards.

“Abruella!” I shout as my emerald delivers a bolt of lightning at the beast.

“Abruella! Abruella!” I scream again and again.

Flashes of lightning explode against the ugly creature.

The monster cries in pain. Its screams are horrendous. It begins to withdraw back into the sand.

My legs come free.

“Pull me!” I shout.

Jamie, Michael and Drew grab my arms and pull.

I pop out of the sand.

“Run to the jungle,” I yell.

I have barely taken a few steps when Michael exclaims, “Look!”

My eyes dart everywhere, wondering what Michael sees.

“There!” he points.

There is a tiny speck in the blue sky moving towards us. It’s one of the flying objects. The Zelareans are coming to get us.

“Run!” I shout again. “We’ve got to get out of here.”

It’s quickly apparent that we are never going to make it to the jungle before the flying object reaches us. It’s moving far too fast. In spite of this reality, I continue to run for my life.

Drew is out in front of all of us with Jasmin racing after him. Jamie, Capurni and I are struggling to catch up with them. The soft sand makes it difficult to run.

I realize that Michael is no longer with us.

I stop.

Michael is standing by himself a little distance back on the beach. He’s digging into his backpack.

The flying object is getting closer. In another few seconds it will rip us apart with its weapons.

Michael throws a small object into the air. I guess that it’s a nan-drone, but I can’t understand why he’s doing this. It’s not going to help us to get more video of a flying object. We need to escape.

I take my emerald and point it at the flying object. Our only hope is for me to blast the object out of the sky. If I do this, I wonder how long it will take the Zelareans to figure out that their emerald has returned. Once this occurs, I will be the most hunted person on this planet.

Suddenly the flying object veers away from us. It’s rapidly descending. It’s diving towards the ocean.

The flying object hits the surface of the ocean, exploding in a fiery ball.

Black smoke drifts upwards.

“Not bad,” a familiar voice says.

It’s Michael. He’s now standing beside me. I didn’t even notice him walking to me.

“Not bad? What do you mean?”

Michael grins from ear to ear as he tucks his spy-pad back into his backpack.

“They’ll never know what happened. They’ll think the plane had a mechanical failure.”

“What did you do?”

He smiles awkwardly like a kid who stole some cookies from a cookie jar. “I sent a nano-drone to jam its flight systems. It caused them to lose control of their plane.”

“And crash into the ocean,” I say. “Let’s get out of here. I have a feeling that soon we’re going to be seeing other Zelareans.”

Michael looks satisfied. It’s almost as though he was playing a video game.

As I turn back towards the jungle, Jasmin and Capurni are reaching the edge of it. Jamie is walking back towards Michael and me. Drew is nowhere in sight.

“Let’s go,” I say. “We’ve got to get out of here.”

I begin to run, hoping there are no more sand creatures.

Soon Michael, Jamie and I are running stride for stride.

“Emily, what happened? Why did that flying object crash?” Jasmin says as we draw closer to her.

I’m too short of breath to reply to her.

At the edge of the jungle, there are flowers that are bigger than my head. They remind me of the huge flowers that Capurni, Jamie and I experienced on our previous visit. I wonder if they’re about to fly away.

“Michael blew it up,” I say, finally answering Jasmin’s question.

Her wide eyes express her surprise.

Walking past Jasmin I look closer at the large flowers, each one about the size of a Frisbee.

Each flower has what appears to be a face in between its bright yellow petals. Each face has a large eye in its center that is made up of many smaller eyes. The smaller eyes look in multiple directions, each appearing to be independent of the other.

As I take another step, dozens of small eyes shift in unison and look directly at me. There’s something unnerving about having a flower look at me. I’m not sure what I should do next. Is the flower friendly or is this another danger we have to worry about?

“What’s next?” Michael asks Capurni as I continue to stare at the flowers.

“Let’s get a little further into the jungle and then use the emerald to see if we can locate any caves,” Capurni answers as he takes a few tentative steps deeper into the tangled growth.

After my encounter with a frightening creature on the beach and from my previous visit here, I’m not eager to go any further into the jungle. My mind is already imagining a multitude of bizarre animals that are waiting in the thick vegetation for us.

“We must find the caves with the drawings,” Capurni says to all of us, attempting to motivate us. “Finding the caves is our mission.”

No one responds to Capurni. I think we’re all looking for an excuse not to enter the jungle.

“Where’s Drew?” Jasmin asks.

I look for Drew. I can’t see him.

“Drew!” Jasmin shouts.

There’s no response.

The others are twisting their heads as they look for Drew, although it’s obvious that no one is eager to step further into the jungle to search for him.

“Drew!” Michael shouts.

Several shrieks tumble from the jungle. They sound like frightened birds.