Into the Forest Shadows (2 page)

"All passengers, please be seated and secure
your restraint harnesses," the computer said.

Even the shuttle auto-pilot was nagging
her.

With a muffled oath, Kate turned around. She
pushed down the narrow aisle and found the one remaining seat. She
ignored the curious and interested glances along the way. Let the
passengers think what they wanted. She didn't care. She had more
important things to think about and plan.

She settled in the padded seat and stuffed
the medication under the cover of the basket next to the bread and
crackers Grandma loved. The basket went under the seat in front of
her. The safety harness snaked over her shoulders and snapped with
the ones that moved over her waist. A safety hologram played at the
front of the cabin but she ignored it, even though it was a new
version she hadn't seen before.

She turned to the window portal, wanting to
see what the weasel might be up to but they were already high
enough that she couldn't see the landing field below them. But, she
did get a perfect view of the human city.

The towering buildings sat right next to each
other, each one having a slightly different color and height, all
of them filled with windows. They seemed to grow from a common root
in the ground.

In a way they did. The human colony ship had
crashed on the exact spot over forty-five years before. The same
ship her Grandma had been aboard.

The city wasn't too bad, if one didn't mind
living in the affordable apartments without windows. The numerous
internal rooms worked well for people like her mother. For those
that didn't want to see the forests.

The fields came into view. Clean green,
yellow and red stripes crisscrossed the land right up to the edge
of the forest. She could see a few farmers and Rangers. The
cultivated areas abruptly changed into the wild tangle of the
Oburos forest.

Yes, a lot of unknowns, but dangerous? She'd
been to Grandma's house lots of times, with no problems. The most
she'd seen were some of the native birds and the ever-present
bunts, neither of which struck her as dangerous. Both ran away the
moment anyone tried to approach them.

Okay, she did have to admit the forest had a
certain foreboding to it. For one, the trees were some of the
biggest on any world yet known, some towering stories high. Trees
of unusual shapes, colors, and producing materials suitable for
everything from simple textiles to the parts for the Diamede
Slipspace Drive most spacecraft used. The animals added an entirely
different complication, as some of them could communicate, like the
Watcher.

The Watcher. Kate scowled at the thought. A
small bundle of fur that claimed to serve a group called 'The
Ancients.' A group no human had ever seen or spoken to.

She knew they, or something, were real. The
satellites protecting the approach to the world belonged to
someone, and it definitely wasn't the humans. Thanks to them the
approach and departure paths were restricted, as well as the number
of ships allowed to approach and leave the planet.

The restrictions overflowed to the design,
size, and range of the small shuttles servicing the scattered
Gatherer camps. Rules passed on to them by the Watcher.

Limits, instructions, orders, told how to
act, talk, and look. Kate brushed purple bangs off her forehead.
Purple with a dash of red down the middle of the bands. Uncle
thought he would have the power to change her? Briefly she
contemplated neon yellow and green, but dismissed it. The colors
made her skin appear washed out.

Her mind ran over the argument before
boarding the shuttle. She would have a few choice things to say
back to Uncle's face when she returned. Silently she rehearsed her
words, changing and rearranging to get the most bite in them. No
way would he win this little word battle.

The shuttle shifted. She looked outside and
then at the time on her mobile. She slouched back into her chair.
She'd been stewing so much about her stupid Uncle that she'd
completely lost track of time. Of course it was time for the
shuttle to make its first stop.

Only then did she realize the amount of
conversation around her. Everyone seemed happy and cheerful.

She resented it.

The shuttle came to hover over a small break
in the forest canopy, slowly dropping straight down. Leaves and
clinging bushy fronds brushed against the sides of the shuttle. The
moment the landing gear touched the ground people rose and grabbed
their belongings.

"We have arrived at Gatherer station Alpha,"
the computer pilot announced.

The ramp lowered. Kate hugged the window to
get out of the way of elbows and bags as more than half the seats
emptied. Robot arms worked to unload some of the luggage and
supplies out of the underside cargo hatches. Gatherers already
outside began taking the boxes, crates, and bags to the houses
built into the gnarled roots of the larger trees.

Beyond the nearest tree-houses stood one of
the refineries with a group of Gatherers on one end feeding in cut
trees. Carefully attached on the other side were bottles and
canisters holding the refined substances.

Kate didn't know how the Gatherers did it,
but she was glad someone could live out here without even the
smallest of civilizations luxuries. It meant she and her mom could
live modestly on the profits the exports provided.

Profits she knew consumed Uncle. Grandma and
her mother might own all the shares, but Uncle ran the day to day
operations of their export business.

Great, back into a furious mood again.

With only a fraction of the people on board
as before, the shuttle took off. Soon, they were gliding a few
hundred feet above the forest canopy.

Kate shifted in her chair, shrugging off the
harness. Time for her to obey another stupid adult rule. But one
she put up with. For Grandma.

She lifted the red cloth from off the top of
the basket and shook it out. The deep red cloth unfolded without a
fold or crease. She flipped it around so it settled around her
shoulders and tied the wide flat strings at the neck to hold it in
place.

No, not cloth. She'd watched Grandma make the
thread out of red bark and woody filaments in the lab, the robots
patiently weaving it into the cape. At the time she'd thought it
was an experiment in new cloth-making. She'd never expected to be
gifted the thing.

She rubbed the fabric through her fingers. At
least it didn't feel like bark. She wouldn't have worn it then, a
gift from Grandma or not.

Why did Grandma insist she wear it anytime
she journeyed away from the human city? She couldn't find any point
in it. The Gatherers never wore anything like it, preferring the
muted tones of the forest floor. And it clashed with her purple and
red hair.

The shuttle angled towards the forest floor
again. It stopped mid-air and began a vertical descent. The limbs
of the closest trees brushed against her window.

"We have arrived at the Blackstone Station,"
the computer pilot announced.

The conversation didn't pause for a moment as
she worked her way down the aisle towards the door with her basket.
Outside the door to the right of the ramp a door opened in the
belly of the shuttle. Robot arms lifted several boxes out of the
cargo hold and set them away from the body of the shuttle.

Kate looked around the small clearing
surrounded by big fat gnarled trunks. A moist earthy scent hung in
the air. Furry bunts of brown and white poked their heads over some
roots, their large ears swirling around to study her. One of them
squealed and all the curious heads disappeared. A few long tails
could be seen on the other side of the roots as they scurried for
their holes among the tree roots.

And nowhere did she see Grandma.

"Shuttle is launching. Please clear the
area," the computer pilot said.

Kate grabbed one of the boxes and dragged it
after her towards the relative safety of the trees. The engines of
the shuttle kicked in, causing air to billow the edges of her cape.
One of the boxes still in the clearing tipped over, but the cover
held.

With the shuttle safely gone Kate peered down
the path leading to the cottage. Still no sign of Grandma. Setting
the basket on top of the pile, she heaved a box up and started down
the short path leading to Grandmother's house.

She knew what she would find. Grandma would
be hunched over an experiment somewhere, completely oblivious to
the world despite the trip having been planned for weeks. Despite
the noise of the landing shuttle.

And today she really would have appreciated
having someone wait for her to arrive. To feel important enough.
For someone to be glad to see her.

She shook herself. Grandma didn't mean it.
Grandma was just... Grandma.

The path turned a corner around a large bushy
tree. Beyond sat Grandma's house. Not a cottage, not a house like
what would be considered a house on other planets.

The front door and windows nestled in the
intertwined roots. The tree itself towered up into the forest
canopy, disappearing into the tangle of branches and leaves from
the trees around it. Even the porch consisted of the gentle curve
of a root, sheltering the front door.

It looked like the home of a giant
woodpecker.

CHAPTER
TWO

She set the box down on the porch and banged
on the door, "Come on, Grandma! I'm here!"

No one answered. Kate banged on the door
again.

After still no answer she fished the key out
from under a flowerpot sitting on one of the window ledges. She
opened the door herself. Why did Grandma lock the door in the first
place with no people around? For a woman considered a genius in
botany, some of the things she did just didn't make sense.

The smell of seasoned spicy wood assailed her
nose, as well as the aroma of something cooking in the kitchen.
Only the light from two round windows illuminated the large
interior room holding a formal sitting area and a dining area. The
dining table held some of Grandma's experiments on top, including a
small plant under a glass dome.

"Grandma? Where are you?" Kate called
out.

The white round form of a housebot rolled out
of the kitchen on four wheeled legs. It held a towel in one of its
two arms, turning a blank expression towards her. "Good morning,
Ms. Kate. Ms. Olivia is not currently in the house."

Kate set the basket on the table. "Fine, I'll
bring the boxes in myself. Nice of you to open the door."

The housebot paid her no attention, turning
around and heading back into the kitchen. Kate started lugging the
boxes to the house.

Most of the supplies looked like they were
for experiments, so she lugged them through the hall in the back.
The tree itself formed the hallway to the unevenly shaped rooms
beyond.

She turned into one of the larger rooms
filled with steel-topped tables and enclosed glass and steel boxes
of varied sizes. A computer on a desk under a window oversaw it
all. She created a small pile of boxes near the door for Grandma to
put away later.

As she stepped outside to pick up the last
box a bunt ran under her feet into the living room. The white and
brown ringed tail disappeared under the coffee table. It turned and
twitched its nose, whiskers, and the tip of its tail at her. A
second followed before she could close the door.

One second they were running as if a person
meant to eat them, and the next they were underfoot.

Kate kicked closed the front door and used
the boxes to barricade the hallway. Then came the trial of herding
the wayward bunts out the door without letting more in.

The bunts raced from under one piece of
furniture to the next. One slipped under a chair. Not a one
squealed, only twitching their noses at her, watching her with
their huge round eyes. She could almost see them laughing at her.
She blew the bangs off her sweaty forehead and ran a finger around
the nape of her cape.

She felt way too hot to stay inside. She
would have to get Grandma's help to deal with the little invaders.
She cracked open the door hoping the rascals would find their way
out, although with her luck today an entire warren would soon be
inside.

She stepped outside, turning her face into
the light breeze filtering through the forest. She followed a
narrow rock path through a garden to the left of the front door. A
garden that looked a lot healthier than the fields near the city.
Grandma needed to talk to the city farmers on how to improve their
veggies.

She purposely took a deep breath, reminding
herself that today was her day to relax. To spend time with
Grandma. To enjoy a bit a life. She would find a suitable way to
deal with Uncle later.

The wider spacing of the trees continued,
along with the tell-tale signs of Grandma's handiwork. Tree trunks
surrounded by bands of sensors. Hanging pots and containers to
collect sap and other slowly dripping fluids. Cameras on poles
watched several trees at once.

Grandma's orchard. And a flash of red told
her that Grandma was right in the heart of it.

Wearing a red cape almost exactly like hers,
Grandma sat on a crate next to a small tree running a line of
sensors around the root systems. The red fabric highlighted her
all-white hair as well as the smooth skin. Lithe fingers with
smooth knuckles wove and threaded the sensors.

Grandma being herself, studying the trees of
the forest.

The little tree was a new one she didn't
recall seeing before. Surely she would have. Compared to the trees
around them the little tree looked pathetic. The boughs drooped.
The burgundy leaves across the top had shriveled.

Even the bark didn't look right. It should
have long smooth stretches of bark running vertically. Instead,
bark flaked off, streaked with white and gray instead of rich
chocolate brown.