The Fire Crystal (2 page)

Tom set out with high expectations, and a spring to his step. He felt sad be saying goodbye though, and had grown fond of the old man and his people.

He would travel with the midday sun on his back.

The quest had begun.

Tra
veling northwards, he learned a lesson about this world. Not everyone was as friendly as the ‘Sky People’. Most people that he met seemed fine, but he needed to be wary. One rainy night he had lain beneath a city underpass asleep, and using his traveling-bag as a pillow.

He woke suddenly with a start. Someone was trying to pull the bag away. Leaping upwards quickly he as found himself surrounded by at least five rough looking characters. Then an arm went around his neck from behind.

“Nice shoes” someone said.

There was an explosion in his head. The guy in front had punched him. Why would anyone do that?

“You’ve picked on the wrong person,” Tom said, and reacted without thinking. There was a blur of movement, followed by some thuds and grunts. Then all the would-be thieves were lying on the ground moaning.

“That’s right cry for your mothers” Tom had told them, as if giving advice. “They should
’ve taught you to show more respect.” He backed away cautiously, and melted into the shadows leaving them dazed and confused.

There was a wild edge to these places he decided, and he learned to avoid the cities. They were chaotic, and didn’t seem to have any overall plan. Worst of all they were crowded; with personal transport that pumped toxic fumes into the air.

He became a jack-of-all-trades; fruit picker, mechanic, and even electronics whizz - repairing broken equipment for local farmers. In some ways it wasn’t a bad life. He ate well, and often rested for the night in a warm barn. Sometimes though the nights could be long, and thoughts would surface that were mostly hidden by the light of day.

He was stranded on an alien world maybe for life
, and wondered about his parents and grandparents. What were they thinking? He’d been expected to arrive as a visitor on Green Dawn, the planet that was being regenerated.

“Where would he have gone?” He imagined
his mother saying to his father with worry in her voice.

They must be thinking he was dead. Then he started to wonder about his cousin Amber. She must be finished her science studies by now. If only he could just get just one message back, then all of this would be OK.
He could live here and make a life. Maybe he wouldn’t have a choice about that anyway. The quest seemed to be going nowhere

There had been some disappointments
, as he searched for the sea that the map showed. Then there was the matter of the fire crystal itself. Was the old mans crystal ball real, or was it magic? Maybe there was a pretty picture embedded in the glass. What if someone had already found the fire crystal?

Then a glimmer of humor would show through in the dark. He was beginning to get used to how things worked on this planet, and imagined that the cave was a tourist attraction now, complete with coffee house, souvenir shop
, and a daily showing of how the crystal was discovered! He might even be able to buy a small piece in the shop. That would be all he needed to power-up the marker, and maybe get rescued.

The Ancestors of th
e ‘Star People’ had no choice;
they
stayed stranded, and made the best of it. He
did
have a choice, and would continue the quest.

Tom had seen many people using
devices with touch screens, and decided that he wanted one too. He had been working for a grain farmer for three weeks, and had enough money saved to buy one. When the farmer heard this he offered to drive Tom into town, so that he could view what was available, and maybe buy a one.

Now he was back in the barn
with his purchase, swiping a finger across the screen and learning fast. Finding that the device not only showed his exact location, but also would display maps and pictures. This thing was cool!

He would sit and play with the tablet looking at his own position on the map, knowing that
if he zoomed out on the display it may even show the sea, and the island he was searching for. Then finally, like thunderbolt from the blue - he got it! Now he knew why he hadn’t found the sea.

Before he had traveled to the mid west to find work, he had been following the edge of this great continent, and still moving north. He remembered that the water he saw was an
ocean
– no one called it
a sea.
So where is the sea? Tom wondered. It was times like this that he missed his friends, and needed someone to discuss this with. He traced the line of the coast southwards, and saw that there was a mighty gulf and a sea. It was confusing. It was time for Tom to go and take a look for himself.

He made his way back to the coast, hitching lifts and following the road eastwards
, picking up casual work where he could. Finally, from a bus window, he saw the long straight horizon of blue water. At last he was back on the coast.

He skirted around the cities, following the coast south, and eventually reached the gulf. He traveled around it, and finally reached the southern region. Then he had found this place.

There was grassland at
the edge of a swamp and a rocky cliff beyond this, with a row of old houses running along it’s top. A long way down below the cliff edge was a beach, edged by a broken ridge of rocks - worn smooth by white water.

Tom pulled the map from his pocket, and compared it with the coastline. The hair on his neck was standing on end. This place was special
. Something within him already knew that.

On the edge of the old man’s map there was an outline of what appeared to be a short section of coast. He touched it with his finger, almost by accident. The image changed. The entire map was now showing a coastline. He touched this again, and to his surprise the image changed. There before him was a picture of a beach, with some rocks in the background, and beyond them was the ocean. The picture was an exact match for the actual view before him. He had found what he was looking for!

He looked out to sea, heart pounding with excitement. Somewhere out there was the island with the mountain. It was as if the fire crystal was waiting for him now, and he could even imagine finding it and using the beacon - then being rescued.

After some exploration
he decided that this place was a natural harbor. It ended at both ends with a sheer wall of rock, as the cliff behind the beach curved around. He walked backwards and forwards along its entire length, past the rocks and staying on the soft sand of the beach, happy just to be here.

Was that opening a cave? He quickly walked up the sandy slope to the cliff face, and looked in. There inside the gap was a short passage. He squeezed through
crouching low, and then took a few steps into a large cave. It was perfect! And with its natural breakwater of rocks, safe from the largest breakers. Rent free accommodation, and a workshop too - for the boat he would be building.

Now he paced the beach again searching for a suitable rock He found one near the far end of the beach, where the wall of rocks ended. Getting that back to the cave, and rolled into place had to be the hardest work he had ever done, but now his new home had a front door.

Inside the cave a narrow ray of light slanted through a crack, high up in the rock wall. The interior was bathed in a soft light. Across the cave he could hear the tinkle of water. It trickled from the rock, and ran down its face, creating a small narrow stream that ended in a crystal clear pool. He was well above the high tide mark, and sure that this was fresh water.

This was something he couldn’t have even have hoped for.
Crossing to the pool, he scooped up some water with cupped hands, drank deeply. This was even better that the bottled stuff that cost money!

The two boys walked down the
path, overlooking the sea. They both looked ordinary enough. Calvan lived up above the cliff, in a big old house with his parents. He’d lived here all his life, and was on summer break from school. His days were spent on the beach, swimming in the clear water, and sometimes a board would be brought down here to ride the waves.

Calvan
had met Tom whilst walking the cliff path to the beach, and they had become friends. There was something different about this stranger. Tom would sit on the beach all day and stare out to sea for hours. “What’re you thinking,” Calvan would ask.

“I
seek something, and it’s out there somewhere,” Tom would reply, but this only added to the mystery for Calvan.

“So where did you come from? What did you say you were doing here?”
Calvan would ask over and over the same questions, but sometimes putting a different slant on them.

Tom was alone on this quest, an
d had no one to share it with, and finally decided to share his secrets. Calvan had been sworn to secrecy.

“I crashed a spacecraft on Earth
, and ejected in an escape capsule before it hit the ground.”

Calvan stared back at him. “So where do you come
from in the first place?”

“Out there
,” Tom told him, waving a hand towards the sky. He went on to tell his story, and told Calvan he was homesick.

Calvan liked Tom, he was a great actor and told a good story, but he didn’t believe a word of it of course.

“If anyone asks, I am Tiberius Oliver Montpelier,” Tom had told him. “I’ve added these names one by one, during my travels here on earth.”

“So how come you speak English?” Calvan asked, with the tone of someone playing his trump card. “Let him find
an answer to that one. Game over,” he thought.

“I was a bit slow at first, but learnt fast. It wasn’t difficult,” Tom answered plainly, as if Calvan would just accept this as fact. “I was born o
n Two Stars a planet that orbits a twin star system, closer in towards the Galactic Hub.” It’s a long way away, but we’re not that different to Earth people.” Calvan was looking puzzled. “Nearer the center of our Milky Way,” Tom added patiently.

“Is it a peaceful place?” Calvan asked, still looking for ways to fault the story.

“My people,” Tom paused, “I’ll call them the SPs, short for Space People from now on” - face a threat from deep space. From a fierce race, smart but in some ways primitive; they’re jealous of us, and want to take by force what we’ve built for ourselves.”

“So now that you
’re here on Earth, where do you live, and where do you hang out when you’re not on this beach?” Calvan asked, still trying to find something that could trip Tom up.

“Follow me,” Tom said. He led them to a recess in the cliff face, just back from the beach
, and then rolled the rock back. There was the cave, some tools, and a boat.

“It’s taken me months to build this craft,” Tom said proudly. Most of the bits
are scrap wood. But that’s OK, it’s really only meant for one trip.”

Calvan took one look and thought
that’s just as well, but said nothing.

“Tomorrow I'll launch it, and set sail across this
ocean to find a sea. I really need to find the fire crystal you see?” Tom explained.

Then he
showed Calvan a small device and said, “This will be the beacon, the thing that needs fire crystal that I told you about. It’ll send a powerful signal, once I load it with crystal.”

Calvan had never seen anything like this, it was made of a strange
metal, and he could feel something– like a kind of energy.  He was beginning to believe Tom

As they spoke, it was growing dark outside
, and the light in the cave was getting dim. “Let me get some now sleep please,” Tom said, because tomorrow the quest begins again.”

Calvan decided there and then
; Tom was the real thing, and his story was true. Then he had an idea. He was on school break, and was going to help his friend.

Calvan
was still wondering if this was a dream as he trod the path down to the beach. He had left a note on the kitchen table.

“Dear Mom and Dad,”
he wrote.
“The quest begins! A friend has invited me on a trip. We’ll join his parents, and I’ll be back soon. Sorry there was not more time to tell you all about it, but you would be happy for me as it will be very educational, and I will be well looked after. See you both soon, Love Calvan.”

The rock was very slightly ajar. He used all of his strength to roll it out, and clambered into the cave pausing for breath, and then rolling it back into place.

Tom woke shortly after dawn, and to his surprise found Calvan was in the cave
and asleep on the bare ground. “How did you get back here? I’m cooking breakfast, you’re welcome to some, but then you’d better go home,” he told him.

Calvan explained that he
’d left a note for his parents. They knew his adventurous nature and wouldn’t object to a short vacation. Tom thought for a minute. “OK hopefully this won’t take long. I’ll bring the crystal back here and load it into the marker, and you can return home then. Hope that you’re good at fishing, because all the food is a bit stale. Don’t worry though, you’ll get lots of practice after we launch the boat.”