Onio (17 page)

The
sasq warriors stepped back, growling in alarm, weapons raised high against this
new, perceived threat, and then stared at Mel as if she was the conductor of
some bizarre concert. She gazed back at them and shrugged in confusion. Turning
back to the little watercraft, she tossed another pebble and it changed again.
This time, Mel could clearly see the outline of some sort of barge, or flat
platform hovering above the water. It looked as if it was plenty big enough to
carry all of them, a few horses, a semi-truck, a house…whatever size was
needed, the ferry was designed to accommodate.

Tanah
stepped up next to her and murmured, “You have good instincts, girl. That is no
ordinary boat.” Turning to her soldiers, she said, “I will climb aboard the
thing and see if it supports my weight.” Black Pony stepped up and gasped, “My
queen you mustn’t risk it…let me do it.”

Tanah
studied her guard coolly and said, “Oh…did you learn to swim when I wasn’t
watching?” Mel could swear that she saw the big guard blush in embarrassment. Tanah
continued with haughty contempt. “My husband, the king, has ordered all of you
to try and learn to swim, but no…my warriors would rather fight a grizzly bear
in its den than get their toes wet in the water! I WILL swim to that craft and
see if it will carry us to an exit!”

“Tanah,
I can swim,” Onio exclaimed urgently. “I agree with your guard. You should not
risk yourself while we are tasked with keeping you safe! Let me swim out there
and see if it’s safe to board.”

It
was Tanah’s turn, now, to look away in shame. Biting her lip, she nodded in
agreement, and watched as the young mixed-breed dove into the water and swam to
the boat. He hesitated just outside the boat’s perimeter and reached a hand
toward the flickering blue and green lights that surrounded the craft. The
lights sizzled up and down Onio’s hand and arm like lightening, and Mel held
her breath.

Then
he turned to face them and smiled. Plunging forward, he grabbed the low sides
of the boat and pulled himself up out of the water. Walking up and down the
platform he laughed as it grew longer or shorter with his every stride. He
lifted his nose, sniffing, and even knelt down and, wetting a finger, tasted
the craft’s surface.

Finally,
he called out to them, “I think it’s safe. Hold on, there’s a pole. Let me see….”
Onio pushed the pole into the water and gave a tentative push. The whole boat
rose out of the water and a steady hum filled the air as a mighty wind rose from
the turbines that powered it. Onio’s eyes grew huge as the boat lifted
completely out of the water and sailed the fifteen feet or so that separated it
from the shoreline and the passengers that waited, open-mouthed, in awe.

Laughing,
Onio, called out, “Come mighty sasquatch, your steed awaits!”

Tanah
shook her head and waded into the water. Onio reached out his hand and helped
the queen board, and then he helped Mel do the same. Within minutes, all of the
sasq warriors stood on the boat as it hummed and hovered, inches above the
water’s surface. Tanah stared about, perplexed, and whispered, “Now what do we
do?”

As
if in answer, the boat moved forward and to the left around the stone wall. Mel
could hear the sounds of rushing water and looking ahead, her heart stuttered
in fear as she saw a vast crevasse and the waterfall that heaved and surged
over the edge of a cliff. The cliff was at least seventy-five feet tall, and
she understood that there was no way anyone could have survived the fall. The
water thundered and hissed its way into a deep lake below, and the sound was
deafening, even to Mel, who heard the roar telepathically.

Mel
looked around for a hand-hold but there was nothing, so she grabbed Onio’s hand
and watched, stunned, as the craft sailed blithely through the misty air as if
set on a pre-determined course, and for all she knew, it was. The craft picked
up speed as most of the sasquatches on board fell to their knees in fear and
wonder. Tanah tried to remain standing but Mel saw Pony wrestle her to the
floor.

Mel,
Onio and Wolf huddled on the floor as well as the craft soared over the lake’s
surface and then into a long series of tunnels and passageways, while the lake,
turning again into a river, surged and tumbled below them. Mel felt her ears
pop and her stomach pressed into her spine as the strange boat began to nose
down, and plummeted into a spinning vortex of darkness. Mel screamed in terror,
as did the fierce sasq warriors, when their conveyance suddenly became
weightless. The passengers on board felt their feet leave the craft’s surface
and for a moment they all knew, with certainty, that they were about to die.

Oddly
enough, although they had trouble keeping their feet under them, Mel and the
others felt a subtle pressure press down on them from above. Mel reached up and
felt a soft barrier give slightly against her hands. It was like shoving a
marshmallow; the surface of the invisible shield was soft, squishy and
completely unyielding. She realized that somehow, miraculously, they were encased
within some sort of force field, like bits of cheese stuffed in a cannoli.

This
was a good thing…Mel’s stomach flipped as the craft spun completely around so
that, for a moment, she found herself studying the guano-covered stalactites of
the ceiling overhead. Then they were racing down one of Earth’s biggest,
deepest, rabbit holes as the ceiling rushed by overhead and the river raged,
fell, pooled into deep, black lakes and raged again beneath them. The sasq muttered
and stared. Tanah, looking disgusted and fearful, puked in the far corner. Onio
looked down at Mel, eyes wide, a half-smile on his lips reflecting the wonder
of what they were experiencing.

Then
the craft began to slow and Mel’s belly lurched back into place. The water
below disappeared into a tumble of boulders and the tunnel narrowed. The
strange boat swept through a stone archway and into a vast cavern. The lights
on the underside of the boat illuminated the walls, which glittered with quartz,
mica and threads of silver and gold.

The
companions stared about in wonder. Rock monoliths rose up out of the ground and
the walls were honey combed with door and window openings. A crumbling pyramid
rose into the air. Mel saw that some sort of light source twinkled at its apex
in pulsing flashes of red and orange, and she felt chills run up her spine as
she realized she was looking at an ancient underground city.

Giant
pictographs etched arrows, parallel lines and spiraling circles into the
ground, much like directional guidelines drawn on the tarmac of an airport. The
boat slowed slightly and shot toward a monolith that stood next to the pyramid.
The sasq warriors stirred with alarm and lifted their spears in readiness.

The
boat stopped finally, and hovered over what was once, obviously, a landing pad.
The sasq warriors murmured nervously and did a double take at the wreckage of
an alien spaceship that sat just outside the landing pad, swathed in shadow.
Coming to a soft landing, the boat settled on the stone floor and powered down.

Mel
and the sasq hesitated for a moment and then climbed down off the boat. Falling
Waters muttered under his breath and made his way to the ancient alien ship.
Calling out, Tanah said, “Be careful, Waters. You don’t know what that thing
is…it could be danger—”

The
queen’s words cut off abruptly as a tiny stone door at the bottom of the
monolith screeched open. Light poured out of the structure and etched a strange
and horrifying silhouette on the cave walls.

A
huge, spindly, winged bug emerged from the structure. Its antennae probed the
air and clawed pincers lifted up like the clawed talons of the devil himself.
Mel and the mighty sasq warriors screamed as one.

Chapter 20

Mel
screamed and then saw that the shade was only a distorted reflection of the
creature as it hobbled toward them on short, spindly legs. It was tiny, maybe
three and a half feet tall and definitely insect-like, with long antennae and a
hard, mottled carapace for a body. Dainty wings fluttered nervously above its
pointed head. The look on its face was so intelligent…so human looking…she and
the sasq warriors realized immediately that whatever the creature was, it posed
no threat to them.

Its
little face was leathery and wrinkled like a raisin, and its mouth was more
like a beak than anything human, but it grinned up at them just the same. Its
huge, slanted eyes swirled with every color in the rainbow and some colors that
Mel had never seen before. She swore that she could see star systems and
galaxies swirl within those magical orbs and she looked down, shaking with
primitive awe.

The
creature came to a stop in front of them and spoke telepathically. “Greetings,
Star Brothers…long have I awaited your arrival!”

The
sasq stared at the little creature with astonishment. Mel and Tanah exchanged
glances and watched, bemused, as the creature produced a tray from mid-air that
held an assortment of small cups that steamed and bubbled with a foul smelling,
smoking liquid. Falling Waters lifted his large nostrils, sniffing, and fell to
his knees in shock. The other warriors, alarmed, lifted their spears but stopped
when they heard the old sasq whisper, “Fire Root! That is the ancient elixir of
power, my brothers!” Tears streamed from his eyes and he trembled where he
knelt on the floor, like an oak tree in a tempest.

“My
gift to you, mighty sasq!” the alien whispered and its eyes swirled merrily as
the warriors took the little cups in their hands and swallowed the brew down in
one swallow. One by one, they lifted their faces and let out a roar of joy and
approval. It seemed to Mel that, for a moment, something shifted; a subliminal
veil shimmered and tore, giving her a glimpse into a reality that hovered just
outside her comprehension.

She
saw a wide plain filled with legion after legion of sasq warriors. They lifted their
faces to the purple sky and sang the song of devotion. The high priests on the
rock podium incanted the sacred vow and the sasq warriors bowed their heads in
submission.

“Here
is water for you, little human,” the bug said, handing her a mug of icy winter
melt-off. Mel shook her head in wonderment and gazed at her friends in
puzzlement.
What have I just witnessed
? She wondered and looked over at
the queen, who looked dazed and pale.

The
sasquatches, at least, looked happy and energized. They slapped each other on
the back and their eyes were bright. The little alien grinned and said, “Please
forgive my intrusion in to your plans but I think you have something that
belongs to me?”

Tanah
started and blushed. “Oh…,” she gasped. “Yes, I was supposed to give this
to…you, I guess.” Handing the weapon over to the bug, she stepped back quickly
and took Mel’s hand in hers. Although slightly shocked, Mel understood. They
were in the presence of something so strange, so alien, it was almost God-like.

The
tiny creature accepted the weapon and, like the tray of drinks, it disappeared
into thin air. Looking up at its visitors the bug said, ‘My name is
Triku…guardian of the inner portal. I sealed the eastern tunnels because the
humans are mustering forces against you. If permitted, they would have found
their way here and that cannot happen.” It paused for a moment and smiled. “Also,
I have longed to meet the guardian race.”

It
walked a little ways away and gestured for them to follow. When Mel and her
companions gathered behind the alien, it spoke again. “Do you see this craft?
It is a transport carrier that was lost many millennia ago. It carried a
battalion of guardians who were assigned protection duty over the Ferenzili
court. It crashed on this planet and for many centuries, it was thought that
all on board perished. I am happy to see that is not true.

It
gazed at all of them in turn and said, “Many thousands of years ago our planets
shared the same orbit. Did you know that?”

The
sasq warriors shuffled their feet and shook their heads doubtfully. Triku
smiled and said, “Oh it’s true. I was only a child when I last saw your kind.
Many things have changed since then, but your ancestors are much beloved still.
Their heroic feats and self-sacrifice are written in the ancient texts and are
celebrated to this day.”

The
bug stared up at Onio. “Let me look at you, son of two worlds,” it whispered.
Onio shuddered slightly and knelt down on his knees. The little alien traced
the lines of his face and brow, wrapping long claws around the circumference of
his skull, as if it was measuring him. “Oh…you are a fine example of what could
be,” it muttered.

Onio
smiled at the little alien and its kaleidoscope eyes grew wide. “You are a
smart one, I see. You will be a leader one day, I think, even though you carry
the human gene within your blood.” The young sasq warrior looked away at its
disapproving tone and it shook its head. “No…do not be ashamed of your
heritage, brother.” It glanced up at Mel, who stood back, cheeks burning with humiliation.

“Oh
no,” Triku sighed. “I have given offence, when none was meant. Please, gather
around me while I sit down and tell you an old, old story.” The little bug
hopped up onto a boulder.

“Hundreds
of centuries ago we were sent to this planet to monitor the growth of the
sentient beings that grew from the ashes of another planets destruction. The
people of that world brought about their own doom, and many peoples celebrated
the end of such a war-like civilization. Many others, though, thought that it
was a pity and a terrible loss to the universe when that species perished.