Gaia Dreams (Gaiaverse Book 1) (69 page)

Sam looked into his eyes and tried to see the
future. What she saw was concern and love and reassurance in her father's eyes.
No visions, no dreams. Just Daddy. She really hoped he was right.

Power Station, Table Rock Lake Dam

Waldo finished chasing a squirrel to the big
Black Walnut tree near the main power station building. He ran in the open door
to find Andy, content that he had once again proved his mastery over squirrels.
Approaching the control room, Waldo heard raised voices and moved alertly, yet
quietly into the room to stand watch over Andy. Oh, he realized happily, it was
only Sergeant Wachowski. Or the Sarge, as that cat Perceval liked to call him.
The Sarge could be really loud.

"So you want me out of sight? Just leave little
Lisanne here as the bait? You folks have gone mad!"

"Now, Sergeant Wachowski," Black was saying
calmly, "we have a plan. We're putting our people in among the trees outside.
We have the eagles and White here to spy for us. They'll notice anyone
approaching the building with ill intent. I'll be in here with Lisanne, along
with Andy and Waldo."

Andy interjected, "Damn right, I'll be in here.
I know you're confident of catching the person, Black, but I'm with the Sarge
here when it comes to using Lisanne like this."

Lisanne rolled her eyes and pointed to the gun
she had out on the desk where she'd been cleaning it. "I sorta think my little
old gun here is gonna give someone pause, Andy."

Wachowski threw up his hands and said, "Okay,
okay. We'll do it your way. I just want to know how many we're expecting in
this attack. And do we know where they'll be coming from?"

Black's expression grew more pensive as he
stated, "Yes. We now know that the attack will come from someone in Cape Fair."

The shocked looks on the faces of all around him
just made him nod grimly. "That's right, it's going to be someone we've let
into Cape Fair...we just don't know who yet."

"All you people dreaming, having visions,
talking to animals...and none of you knows who the damned culprit is?" Sergeant
Wachowski roared. "Useless!" He stalked off to his machinery, grumbling as he
left.

Lisanne said perkily, "I'd say that went fairly
well."

Perceval sat on Mrs. Philpott's lap, curled up
in a pose like he was ready for a relaxed nap. Such was not the case. He
wondered if he'd be able to fool Margaret with his little act. Maybe. He needed
to observe her without interference, and the dumb animal pose might work. He
didn't understand why his sense of Margaret had changed, what it was that
prevented him from seeing into her more clearly. Although it could be the
various strong personalities she was now surrounded by. Maria and Zack, both
determined and dominant people. And Mayor Dubois, who was currently summing up
their journey to Cape Fair as they sat gathered in the den of the Samuels'
house, now she was a character and a half, Perceval decided. Then there was
Phoebe, clearly stressed out, anxious, fearful, maybe her vibes were what he
was picking up on, maybe it was Phoebe who had changed, not Margaret. Humans,
he decided with some inward shudders, are confusing, conflicted entities.

Jessica sat on the couch with Sam leaning up
against her side. Sam had been utterly quiet since the arrival of this latest
group. A group containing, as Sam put it, "the bad guy." Jessica looked at each
of them and wished she had her daughter's ability to look into people.
Although, that didn't seem to be helping Samantha out much this time. The thing
is, Jessica thought, they all seem perfectly normal. Well, except for Phoebe.
But Phoebe looked barely able to hold her glass of iced tea, much less able to
plan and carry out an attack on the Power Station. And on top of it all was the
revelation that Margaret had abilities much like Samantha! If that were true,
Margaret's arrival could mean an end to her daughter's role of community seer
and prophet. If Margaret's coming here meant they also had a problem person in
their midst, Jessica thought she could live with it, just because of how much
it could help out Sam.

Alexandra split her attention between taking
notes on the traveller's adventures, watching their faces, and then watching
Samantha. What the hell was going on in that kid's head, she wondered. Alex had
watched John greet the newcomers, get them all seated in the den with tall,
cool glasses of iced tea, urging them to tell their story, all in a welcoming
way, no clue given that he suspected one of them of any wrongdoing, or rather,
wrong thinking. Samantha had smiled and said, "Hi," and said not a word after
that, apparently content to let the adults lead the conversation. Although,
Alex had noticed a sharper look from the little girl as she was introduced to
Zack. And there had been a moment there when Zack looked startled at meeting
her, like he wanted to say something, but didn't. Sam had just grinned at him and
moved on to sit by Jessica. Alex realized they were trying, as they listened,
to perceive who it was among them now who wasn't really one of them. The
us-versus-them thing again. It always came up in human society.

John watched and listened and waited. What he
was waiting for wasn't clear to him yet. But something, surely, some gesture or
phrase or attitude--surely something would be said to give them idea of who in
this group was...off. Or maybe the person who would carry out the attack wasn't
even aware yet that this was what they would do. He wondered if Sam had
considered that. Margaret was now explaining how she had known for really quite
some time about the coming disasters. Her knowledge of what had occurred was
impressive. He saw a couple of fleeting frowns on the faces of Zack and Mayor
Dubois and paid closer attention to what Margaret was saying.

"So at that point I finally understood that we,
all of us, had caused this to happen. Our arrogance in thinking we could
control nature, remaking the planet according to our desires--out of greed
sometimes, or just a need to control everything. Obviously, our late President
demonstrated this to the fullest when he attacked the planet with his bomb. And
although that was a horrible action, I think in the long run we may find that
the loss of population--"

"Margaret," Mayor Dubois said sharply. "I think
we can leave the analysis of what has happened for another time."

John's eyes narrowed as he noticed the increased
tension in all the newcomers. What was this?

In the awkward silence, Alan Beakman spoke up. "I'm
surprised to find you still have electricity here. You all seem to have come
through the disasters surprisingly well. Having power has surely--"

He stopped talking as he glimpsed a few people
jump as he spoke. Then John said, "Yes, we have been fortunate. But as some of
you dreamed, we are a 'safe zone,' so I suppose we would have to be in better
shape than other parts of the world."

"Better may be a relative term," Margaret
remarked. "Unless our attitudes change from one of conspicuous consumption of
natural resources to one of caring for the planet, I honestly don't think we
will be safe at all. It's clear the Earth has her own way of dealing with those
who damage her."

"Er...yes," John replied, somewhat puzzled. What
was this intensity about?

As he tried to decide which way to take the
conversation, Samantha suddenly stood up. "Daddy," she said, "Harry and me are
gonna go to the waterfall," sounding for all the world like a little girl bored
to tears by the adult conversation.

Jessica put out a hand to her daughter and said,
"Sam, I don't know. The sun will be going down soon."

Samantha turned in a half-circle facing the
newcomers. "Anybody wanna come see our waterfall? It's really cool!"

What the hell, John thought, was she up to? But
he had to follow her lead. He trusted her, he realized in that moment, more
than he'd have thought possible.

John said aloud, "If one of you wouldn't mind
going with Sam, why don't we take a break and sort out where you will be
staying tonight. And I think Jessica could maybe use some help in the kitchen
as well." He watched his wife's eyes narrow at him in a piercing gaze.

Margaret asked, "Is this a natural waterfall? Or
man-made?"

Jessica stated, "Oh, it's a beautiful place. No
way any one of us could have created such a thing. Mother nature did a very
nice job with that waterfall." She stood up and asked, "So which of you is good
in the kitchen?"

As the group began to rise and chatter about
food and accommodations, John realized that his daughter had grabbed Margaret's
hand and was leading her to the back door. Was she the one? Should he call
Black--should he stop them?

Clear as a crystal bell, her voice rang in his
head. "No, Daddy, it's okay. It has to be like this."

And while John stood stunned by this latest
skill of his daughter's, she vanished out the door with Margaret and Harry.

The Farm

Janine found Gracie and Clay in the living room
of the farmhouse, talking to Harmony about her latest visit with Abby. The
young horsewoman took a seat and stood up again, unable to sit still.

Gracie turned to her and asked, "Janine, what is
it? You look nervous."

"Sorry," Janine replied, "It's just the
horses--something is not right."

Clay frowned and inquired, "Is one of them ill?
Should I go check on them?"

"No, no, that's not it," Janine answered. "It's
a feeling like a need to run away--I'm not sure--I--"

She sank into a chair all at once. "Oh, no," she
said.

Harmony came back into the living room with a
glass of water she'd gotten from the kitchen. "Here, kid, you looked like you'd
seen a ghost or something."

Janine took a gulp of the water and looked up
with tears in her big, dark eyes. "It's San Francisco," she said quietly. "The
earthquakes. They are about to start."

"Oh, my God," Clay uttered, huge sadness in his
voice.

Gracie said softly, "The animals always know
before an earthquake, don't they." Then she turned to Harmony. "Abby was
resting when you left her upstairs?"

Harmony nodded. "Yeah, she was tired from our
walk, said she wanted a nap before supper." Then a look of comprehension dawned
on her face. "Oh, yeah! We can't let Abby know about this."

Gracie nodded as Clay groaned and then said, "My
poor Abby. We absolutely can't let her know. She loves that city so much. This
would just kill her."

None of the humans heard the soft footsteps
padding away down the hall from the living room. None of the animals noticed
the pale-faced distraught woman leaving the house, consumed as they were by the
premonitions of the coming quakes. With their new abilities, the horses were
experiencing the phenomenon as if they were there. They never saw, never sensed
Abby running through the fields toward the forest.

Waterfall behind the Samuels' House

Sam and Margaret sat on the rocks near the
waterfall watching the mist glow with the orange and gold colors of sunset as
light played across the dancing bubbling waters. Margaret's golden-red hair
shimmered down over her shoulders as she leaned back and smiled at the sight
before them.

"It's quite lovely," she stated, "and so
unspoiled, so natural. I understand why you wanted me to see it."

"Yes," Sam replied, "it's my favorite place."

"Still, you people will have to change to keep
it like this," Margaret continued. "I'm shocked that you are using so much
technology--electricity, computers, even cars! I know you probably don't
understand this, Samantha, but the people here are going to have to give up a
lot to get in tune with nature."

"Oh, I think Mommy and Daddy understand," the
little girl answered, resting her hand on Harry's head as he sat beside her. "And
so does Harry."

"Harry? Oh, your dog," Margaret nodded and
smiled at her. Then she seemed to really look at Sam, and her emerald green
eyes widened a bit. "Ahhh, you can talk to him, to other animals too. So you
know what I mean, even if you are only a child. Some people still don't get it,
Sam," Margaret continued, her smile fading as she warmed to the topic. "We have
to change so much, we have to get rid of all the things that pollute the
environment, ways we have behaved that have hurt the Earth. Maybe then we'll be
forgiven, be allowed to live in peace, learning to be one with nature again. I'm
sure you sense it, just as I do, how we've gone too far with our technology.
With all the ways we have to make life easier. Just look at how your town here
has electricity--that dam and those lakes were created by the Army Corps of
Engineers, just to make life easier. We can't be afraid to work hard, to
struggle, if it means we can heal the planet."

"I like having lights and computers," the little
girl said quietly. "And they aren't hurting anything."

"Oh, but Sam, don't you see? Don't you sense it?"
Margaret said earnestly, leaning forward toward Sam. "It's all connected,
everything. So what we do here affects something somewhere else. Sure,
electricity is helpful to us, but then you have refrigerators, coolants, air
conditioning. People think it's okay to have cars and you end up with air
pollution. I heard your father talking about a fishing village. Sam, don't you
realize we humans have decimated our oceans? Whatever balance has been achieved
in these man-made lakes around Cape Fair, if we humans are allowed to do as we
want, we'll overfish those too. Why, just in the last fifty years, ninety
percent of the large fish populations have disappeared due to industrial
fishing!"

"But, when people paid attention, and changed
the way they fished, then some of them came back," Sam commented.

Margaret looked startled for a moment at the
girl's response, and then brushed it aside. "But the point is that we damaged
the oceans. And not just the oceans. Look at the very earth beneath our feet."