The Mendel Experiment (7 page)

“Pulled to the learning place?” Esteya asked. “Is that the place our dreams wanted us to go to? Beyond the mountains?”

“Yes. It is a pod.” There was confusion coming from Esteya. “It is something that was sent to teach us,” Corree explained, trying to show her a picture of the ship.

“Oh!” Esteya exclaimed. “So shiny!”

Corree knew Esteya had understood her mental picture.

“And remembering dreams?”

“Are you dreaming of more than going outside to a learning pod?”

“Yes, when we dream, some are remembering things from the past. Others are dreaming about where we came from and what we are here to do. Some have been dreaming for some time.”

“What
are
you here to do?” Corree asked, wanting to know if these people had been taught the same thing as she had.

“Find the important rocks from deep inside the caves for our creators to use.” Her voice rose in excitement as her fear melted away. “When we do, they will send us wonderful things to eat and things to keep us warm. The creators will send others to help us.” Esteya paused from her happy chatter and thought a moment. “At first I thought you were one of the creators or one of the ones that would be sent.”

Corree frowned.
Why the different dreams?
Why did Esteya seem so… clueless?
“No, I’m not one of the creators. I haven’t been sent. I came on my own. The members of my family decided to meet and get to know other groups. To find out things.” She hesitated.

“What things?” Esteya coaxed.

“Like what each group remembers about the old…about the people who put us here. The Federation…”

“Our Creators? Is that what they’re called? You know a lot more than we do. You must come and talk to the rest of my family!” Esteya reached out in the darkness and took Corree’s hand. Before she knew it, Corree was being led into the dark interior of the cave.

Even though it was totally dark, she knew where the walls and ceiling were and could avoid the rough spots on the floor. Corree noticed an almost inaudible clicking in her ears. She was startled to realize some of the sounds were coming from Esteya. She was even more startled to realize that she was making a similar sound, something deep in her throat. How could she be changing so quickly? Each mutation came faster and faster. Her head pounded, but that eased as she followed Esteya.

The cave tunnel seemed to go on forever. Esteya held on tightly as though she thought Corree would bolt and run. After what seemed an incredibly long time, Corree felt/saw the walls widen, the ceiling rise and finally disappear. She felt the moon beams before she actually saw them.

The tunnel continued to widen until Corree walked into a cavernous valley with rock walls rising straight up. She paused and stared toward the sky. The light of the first moon shone at the tops of the black walls. Very little reached down to where she stood; still Corree detected eighteen people ahead of her. They were huddled against the rock walls where the cave opened to its widest; maybe twenty feet across. Esteya drew her closer to her side.

Most of the cave dwellers were about her size. Some were smaller, more like Joshee and Kollin when they first came to Mendel. There were children small enough to be held in the bigger kids’ arms. One of the tiny ones began crying. A baby? They had sent babies down here? Corree had never seen a baby, but from what the holo-man had shown her, she knew that was what these littlest ones were. Corree leaned forward to look at it. The baby gazed at her with huge eyes, and then it opened its mouth. The high-pitched cry echoed back and forth from one wall to another. The girl turned her back to Corree and the baby stopped crying.

The girl hunched over her charge. Slurping sounds told Corree the baby was nursing. The girl was its mother? How long had these people been here?

“Why are you here?” a deep voice said from behind her.

Corree spun around and stared at the squat, heavily muscled man facing her. His pelt was dense and, like Estreya, very light. He held a club in one hand and a stone knife in the other. Putting the knife into his belt, he reached out with a hesitant finger to touch her pelt. It had grown longer since her arrival into the cave, but was still much darker than anyone else’s in the group.

Corree wondered that this man seemed much older than her. He was more the age of the younger scientists of her dream. Then she saw a flash of memory. As she and her friends moved from room to room, she saw older people. They were coming out of the teaching rooms as Corree and her friends went in. There weren’t that many of them.

“Where did you come from?” he asked without waiting for her first answer.

“I came from the rainforest west of here.” She gestured with her hand. “I’m here because I wanted to see who else was sharing Mendel with us. I think we should know each other.”

“Why?” he snapped.

She was taken aback by the question and had to gather her thoughts for a moment. “The creators made us forget. I want to remember. I want to know who’s still alive and who died.”

“The Creators didn’t tell us to go find others. They told us to grow here and build a mountain colony in the caves.”

Corree realized the truth. These people had been here longer than she and her family had. Perhaps some of these had been here even before the older kids of her dreams.

His voice grew stronger. “We were the first. I was the age you are now when we came.”

Esteya appeared to be the oldest of the kids. She was probably only five or six when she came. So these people of the cave had been here for more than ten years, by her best guess. She couldn’t imagine living in the dark for that long.

“How can you come here?” he asked, breaking into her thoughts.

“How did I get here? I walked from the seashore. Before that I was in the…”

He cut her off. “But how did you survive? Benji tried to leave. He came back to die.”

“You mean going outside will kill you?”

The cave dweller folded his arms, his frown deepening.

Corree thought furiously. It seemed that these people could only change the one time. The way the holo-man had talked, the creators had wanted them to stay in their habitats; to have babies, become numerous and provide resources for the Federation. How was it that she could continue mutating when these people didn’t have that ability? “I survived mostly because I have been able to mutate wherever I go.”

The man looked at her like she was some kind of freak. “Why would you want to do that?”

Corree repeated her reasons.

He frowned. “The Creators put us here for a reason and gave us the means to live here. We are going to do what we were sent here to do.” He glared at her. “Go back home to your group. Do your duty.”

Any further talk with this guy was useless. “I’ll leave. Can Esteya come with me to make sure I don’t make a wrong turn?” Corree managed to keep the sarcasm out of her voice. She had noticed on the way in here that her sense of direction had become even more acute than it usually was. There was no chance she would get lost, but the ruse gave her a small amount of time to talk to Esteya.

The leader snorted in disgust. “Go home where you belong,” he repeated. He made some clicking noises, and Esteya touched her shoulder. She motioned to Corree, and they left the chamber.

Once into the narrow cave, Corree asked her the question that had been bothering her. “How can you stay in the caves, in the dark all the time?”

“Oh, it’s all right. I can’t imagine going outside. All that openness and the light. The sun burns; makes you blind and causes your skin to peel off.” She made some clicking sounds similar to the leader’s. “Besides, we have some light from glow plants.”

Corree felt Esteya’s fear. “It’s not that bad, Esteya. You’re right about the sun; it can hurt us if we are out in it too long. We are careful not to be in the open when the sun is in the sky. But I do love the forest.” Her voice was almost wistful.

“Maybe you should stay there then,” she suggested in a kinder version of the man’s command.

“Haven’t you ever been curious about the outside?” Corree asked.

Esteya shook her head. “Oh, no, I couldn’t.”

Corree thought about the leader’s earlier comment. “Who was Benji?”

Esteya made some more throat noises, but these sounded very sad. “He was my brother. My older brother. He was very curious and wanted to know where all the tunnels went. He found the jeweled cavern where the tiniest little light from outside blossoms into so many colors. We go there to feel the stones; to let them fill us with warmth and happiness. We dance and sing there.”

“But you don’t,” Corree stated.

“No, I don’t,” Esteya admitted. “Not after Benji died. It is sad for me, and the colored gems can’t ever make me happy.”

Thinking of Migo, Corree could understand.

“How did you know what I was thinking? Are you like the small ones who can tell what we are thinking?”

“The small ones?”

“The babies. They put thoughts into our heads. If they are hungry, cold, or frightened. Sometimes they comfort us with happy thoughts. It is harder for them when they are older, but they are still better at it than the rest of us.”

“I guess I am a little bit like that. It was mostly the change I made when I was with the sea people. Even before, I could pretty much tell where the members of my group were all the time.”

“Sea people?” Esteya made more of her clicking sounds.

“Yes, there is a group that lives in the ocean. It’s very beautiful there, but there are many animals that want to kill you in the sea. They have the ability to talk to each other in their minds. Those clicking sounds you make—do you talk to each other with those sounds?” Corree asked.

“Yes, and they help us find our way around in the dark,” she explained.

“Ah,” was all Corree said. She had felt some of the sounds bounce back to her. That was how she knew what was ahead of her. “You can’t really see in the dark, then?”

“I thought you could read my mind,” Esteya said with a laugh.

“I’m not as good as the sea people.”

“How does it feel to change?”

“At first it was scary—and it hurt. When I went to visit the sea people I felt things changing inside. My lungs got bigger, my fingers shortened, and webs grew between them. That really hurt at the beginning, but now it mostly feels funny—strange. When I saw what those changes let me do…”

Esteya waited. Corree explained the freedom of being able to fly through the water just as she glided between trees. Corree realized that each change brought a new kind of wonder. Even here in the cave she was amazed at how she could find her way through the dark coolness. It was exhilarating to feel the vibrations in the rock walls that came from far below. Corree wished she could go to that gemmed cavern. It was then she realized they were going a different way. Before she could open her mouth to say anything, Esteya spoke.

“Even though it is sad for me, I thought you might like to see Benji’s discovery.”

“Yes, I would. Thank you, Esteya.”

Chapter Seven

When they entered the cavern, Corree almost stopped breathing. There was the tiniest point of light from the small opening in ceiling, but each jewel embedded in the wall seemed to gather it in and multiply the light a hundred times. They changed the blue-white of the sun into more colors than Corree could name. The beams they sent out were charged with emotion. Almost all were happy emotions.

She walked over and touched a large red gem and felt its throbbing beat of power flow through her veins. She could do anything! Corree barely touched a deep yellow, fist-sized gem. She instantly imagined herself soaring through the tree tops. The wind flowed through each hair of her pelt and penetrated her skin. It surged through her body and filled her heart with joy. She dropped fruit on a howler and plucked a finger snake from a tiny twig, dropping it into a water-holding flower.

Motes of light danced around her head, and she laughed and sang. Corree danced with the lights as they sang their song. She continued to touch gems and feel their different songs, saw different scenes, and experienced many happy emotions. One imagining let her glide from tree to tree with a grown Migo. They touched fingertips as they glided, separating to go around the trunks of forest giants. She touched fingertips with him again and realized it was Riss gliding along with her. Corree laughed, and he laughed with her. He plucked a flower growing at the end of a vine and handed it to her in mid-air.

Corree felt a hand on her arm and ignored it. Her time with Riss was so happy. She didn’t want it to end. The hand was insistent, and Corree looked around to see Esteya pointing. Tears coursed down the cave girl’s cheeks, and Corree realized the gems had the power to multiply and return a person’s emotions. She felt happy when she entered the cavern, but Esteya was sad because of her brother’s death. Now Corree felt ready to cry because she knew she had to leave the cave.

Reluctantly she allowed Esteya to lead her down the corridor they had come up. “Thank you for letting me experience this. I know it was hard for you.”

“Mata says we will take some of the stones when the Creators, the Federation, asks for them.”

She wondered how the stones would react to being dug out of their home.

“That will be sadder than the way they make me feel now. The stones have life even though they are not living as we are.”

“I know. The Federation wants us to take things from the forest and the sea. I really don’t want to.”

The pair said nothing else until they came to the cave leading to the outside. Filtered light told her it was near the end of the day. She would wait for the sunset before continuing on her journey.

“I wish I could go with you,” Esteya said, and then she was gone.

“Esteya?” Corree called after her. There was no answer. “I will come back someday.” As soon as she said it, Corree wasn’t sure she could keep that promise, but she would try.

The sun had barely set when she stepped out of the cave. Sunlight still showed on the mountain peaks above her, but it was chilly in the valley. The frigid air felt good, and she sucked some in to overcome the oppressiveness of Esteya’s sadness.

“If I were a snow bear, you would be half-digested by now,” a voice boomed above her.

Corree nearly jumped out of her pelt. She whirled around and saw Riss perched on top of an outcropping of rocks above her. He was grinning broadly.

“Did you find the under-mountain people?” he asked.

“How did you know I was here?” she countered.
Why would he be following me? I thought he was locating other mountain groups.

Riss dropped down beside her. “I felt something new in the mountains and came to investigate. When I realized it was you, I was worried.” He held up his hand when she began to bristle. “These are unknown places. You’ve never been through here and I thought it would be wise for you to have someone at your back.”

Corree could see the wisdom in that. “How did you find me? I was inside the caves.”

“I already had a fair idea where the cave people’s access was,” he began.

“You were following me then?”

“Most of the time I was following your scent, once I figured out it was you. I tried to catch up before you entered, but you were too far away.” Riss gave a wry smile. “I was too big to get into the cave, so I had to wait and hope.”

“I can take care of myself,” she muttered. Corree remembered the happy dream she had had of being with Riss in the cavern, but those feelings were gone now.

“I know, but I thought you might also like some company. At least until you get back to your own family.”

Corree’s irritation fled, and she grinned. “So is Meeka looking for other mountain groups?”

He nodded. “The holo-man showed me a desert group on the map. Just beyond the mountain passes.”

Corree hadn’t considered going that far, but with Riss… “Did you want to go there? It just seemed so far away.”

“I know, but I think we need to meet them, too.”

“Oh.” She didn’t know what else to say for a minute. She would be going with Riss! “So are you ready to tackle hot and dry?”

Riss grunted. “I just hope I can mutate as fast as you do.” He ran his fingers through the thickened pelt on her shoulder.

“I hope so, too.” She eyed the thick fur covering his body. “Or we may have to get a sharp stone and shave you.”

Riss’s laughter echoed off the mountainside. “Come on. We need to get through this pass and find shelter before total dark.”

“Do you know this part of the mountains?”

“Not that well, but I remember the map the holo-man showed us and the terrain is similar to where we live.”

Corree and Riss walked side by side when the paths were wide enough. When they weren’t, Riss usually took point. Corree didn’t argue with him. The mountain air grew colder, and she was increasingly glad for her longer pelt. She touched the hair on her arm and noticed it was even thicker in the short time she and Riss had been together. She felt a quick shot of pain, then an itch on her head, and she reached up. Instead of rounded ears that could pick up the creeping of insects hidden under leaves, Corree felt pointed ears high up on her head. Tiny muscles jumped and one ear swiveled to hear slight noises behind her. She listened more intently and heard only wind among rocks.

Her still keen nose picked up the smell of cold and the acrid fumes of fungus growing on the undersides of rocks. There was a slight wafting in the air telling her something had made a kill recently. She tapped Riss on the arm.

Riss whispered, “Mountain snow cat. Far away. We should be okay as long as we keep heading out of its territory and don’t make too much noise.”

She grimaced when her stomach rumbled loudly. Riss pointed to a pouch hanging from his weapon belt.
Soon
, he mouthed.

Corree picked up hints of other creatures she knew were less than benign. Her ears swiveled forward and she caught the whisperings of noise ahead of her. She had thought her hearing was acute before, but now? She heard even the slight sounds of things under her feet.

“We’ll hole up soon. It’s almost too dark to walk through here.”

“Something’s ahead,” she muttered.

Riss nodded. “Rock rabbits.”

Corree wondered if they were as good as the forest variety. They traveled until full darkness and then waited under an outcropping of rocks until the first moon rose. She could still smell whiffs of rock rabbits but had to be content with the dried meat Riss carried. The air was freezing and she was glad Riss was sitting next to her. His warmth not only dispelled the cold; it also comforted her. Corree enlightened him of her failed adventure in the caves.

“You didn’t fail,” Riss said. “Now we know the scientists have tried different tactics before we were sent here.” He handed her some more meat. “I sure wouldn’t want to live under a mountain all my life.”

They fell into silence. Corree tried to stay alert, but her eyelids kept drooping.

“I’ll watch. You get some sleep. From what you told me, you didn’t get much of a chance in the caves,” Riss told her.

He was right. It was going to be a hard trek to the desert. Corree closed her eyes, but sleep wouldn’t come to her. She kept remembering everything that had happened recently. So Corree was surprised when she woke with full moonlight in her face and her body snuggled close to Riss. She pulled back in embarrassment. He had a questioning look in his eyes, but didn’t say anything. After grabbing another quick meal from his pouch, they set out.

****

For the next two days, she and Riss trudged through narrow rocky valleys and along barely discernible paths through high mountain passes. Twice Riss killed rock rabbits with his sling. The hot meat filled her limbs with energy. Corree caught several rock crawlers, which she cracked open. After hooking the claws together, she hung them from her belt. The meat would dry as they walked and provide sustenance while they were in the desert.

The valleys became hotter while the passes remained frigid. On the last night in the mountains, they snuggled together for warmth in a high mountain cave. Riss’s musky odor heightened Corree’s feelings of aloneness. She knew this time with Riss was temporary. After they had contacted the desert people, Riss would be going back to Meeka and she’d be going back to her family…a family where she’d still be alone. Corree suppressed a sigh.

“What’s wrong?” Riss asked.

“Nothing.”

Riss snorted. “You might as well talk to me. I can practically touch your emotions.”

“Huh?”

“You’ve been…well, down for some reason. What? You don’t like my company? I smell bad or something?”

“I do like your company, Riss. That’s the problem.”

“Uh? What?”

“I mean we’ll be going back to our families after this is done. I love my family, but sometimes I just want someone my own age to talk to…to be with.”

“Oh, yeah. I forgot your life mate died after your pod landed.” Riss didn’t say anything else, and Corree was able to discern his consternation.

They were both silent for a long time. Corree thought Riss might have dozed off.

“If we can all change like you have, I could come and visit you every once in a while,” he offered.

Corree laid her head on his chest. “I appreciate that, Riss. I don’t think Meeka would, but I do.”

“Or your group could come live with mine and…”

“And what? I wouldn’t ask Meeka to share her nest, uh cave. That wouldn’t be fair to her or anyone else.” Again there was a long silence. “I’m just going to enjoy your company while I have it.” With that, Corree terminated the topic.

“We’ll figure something out.”

Corree snorted, but she wished he could.

He pulled her closer and held her with his long muscular arms. She felt his heartbeat, smelled the heady musk of his pelt, and temporarily forgot about their dilemma.

****

The pair entered the dry regions through a mountain pass high above the desolate plain before them. A narrow path, carved out by wind and sporadic rain showers, switch-backed down the side of the last mountain. A light breeze indicated what would greet them when they left the mountains. Corree began sweating. Hopefully they would acclimatize by the time they reached the plain below.

“The map showed a group in that direction.” Corree pointed to a small hill in the distance, lit from behind by a rising moon.

“It will take half the night to get there.”

“And that’s only if we don’t run into something that wants to eat us.”

Riss chuckled deep in his throat. “We need to quit exercising our jaws and get going.”

Corree’s only response was to start down the rocky path. Riss followed close behind, grabbing her arm when she stumbled or slid. When he was ahead, she did the same for him.

By the time they reached the plain the first moon was a hand-width above the eastern horizon. During the trip, Corree had felt the itch of fur changing to something else, but she hadn’t looked closer than to verify that her pelt was receding.

“I think we can do it,” she muttered.

“What if they won’t let us stay?”

“I don’t know. Why wouldn’t they let us stay?”

“I think we’d better spend the day here,” Riss suggested. “I would hate to be caught out there at sunrise. We need to rest anyway.” They found a dusty cave barely big enough for both of them before the second moon had set.

“If I hadn’t seen it I wouldn’t have believed it,” Riss breathed.

He was staring at her, and she knew she had made another quick change. The tingling all over her body told her. Now, though, she took a close look. What was left of her pelt had changed color to match the grayness of the bleak desert ahead of them.

His pelt was still quite long, although she could tell Riss was changing, too. “Do you think they made me this way, or is this just some kind of fluke?” she asked.

“No way to know. If the creators did make you able to change more quickly than the rest of us…why?”

Corree shrugged. “I don’t know and to be honest, I don’t really care. I wish the Federation would leave us alone like they did for the past five years.” She tried to sleep, but the heat was stifling. The wind blew grit and dust in their faces. Thankfully, their noses had developed flaps that filtered out most of what blasted them out here.