D. MacHale - Black Water

It was about to get a whole lot weirder.

We were starting to cross another sky bridge when Boon stopped. He looked around to make sure nobody was watching or listening, then reached into his tunic and pulled out a thick, braided vine that was looped into two small circles on one end.

“We’re almost at Leeandra,” he explained. “I hate to do this, Pendragon, but there are city rules that don’t apply in the jungle.”

“What is it?” I asked.

“Restraints,” he said with his head down, embarrassed.

“It’s okay, I understand,” I said and took the braided vine to place it around Boon’s furry hands. “I won’t make it too tight.”

“No!” Boon said and pulled his hands back. “These are for you!”

I didn’t react at first. It took a couple of seconds to understand what he was saying. He wanted to put the restraints onme!

“You gotta be kidding me!” I shouted and backed away.

“Sshhhh!” he said while looking around nervously. “You’re a gar. We don’t let gars walk around on their own inside the city.”

“Why not? What’s wrong with gars? Besides the smell, which you already pointed out.”

Boon frowned. He grew nervous. “I…I’m sorry, Pendragon. Maybe you don’t understand. I’m not really sure how to say this but, the gars here aren’t like you.”

“Yeah, I saw those quigs,” I said.

“Not just the quigs,” Boon said. “Pendragon, on Eelong, gars are like…animals.”

I stared at Boon a long time, letting his words roll around in my head, hoping they would settle down in some way that would make sense. They didn’t.

“I thought you knew,” he said sheepishly. “Most gars can’t even speak, that’s why I was so surprised to hear you talk. I guess I didn’t explain things so well.”

“No, you didn’t,” I said nervously. “You’re telling me humans on Eelong can’t speak? Or think intelligently? Or work or read or laugh or write or… or play sports?”

“No, they play sports!” Boon assured me. “Gars play wip-pen all the time.” He then dropped his voice low and said, “But lots of them are killed during the game.”

“Oh, that’s just swell!” I shouted. “Humans aren’t capable of doing anything except getting killed playing games or being eaten by tangs. I feel so much better now.”

“But everything will be fine if you stay with me…and put this on,” Boon said, holding up the restraint.

“No…freakin’…way,” I said. “You’re not going to put a leash on me like some kind of…of…animal!”

“But that’s what you are!” Boon pleaded. “Nobody here knows about other territories or Travelers or places where gars are intelligent. Believe me, I know about it, and I’m still having trouble accepting it.”

“Well, that’s just too bad,” I shot back. “The hell with your leash laws. I’m here to help these cats. If they’re going to treat me like a pet, then they can get somebody else to protect them from Saint Dane.”

I was really mad. But more than that, I was freaked out. Can you imagine dropping down a few notches on the food chain and being treated like a lower life-form?

“Take me to Seegen,” I demanded. “If he’s the Traveler from Eelong, then I’m going to need his help. And I’ve got to find Gunny. The more time we waste playing zoo boy, the more time Saint Dane has to cause trouble.”

Boon looked to the ground. “I understand how you feel, Pendragon,” he said quietly. “I don’t blame you. If I went to Second Earth, I’m sure I’d feel the same way.”

“I guarantee it,” I grumbled.

“But we’ve got a problem,” he continued. “If you want to walk around Leeandra like you’re a klee, you’ll be picked up by the Stray Division and impounded.”

“You mean like a loose dog?” I asked, horrified.

“I don’t know what a dog is,” Boon answered.

“What if you explained to them I’m a really smart gar, and I should be treated with respect?”

Boon looked at me like I had just said I was going to sprout wings from my ears and fly.

“Okay,” Boon said calmly. “You win. I’ll do whatever you want, you’re the lead Traveler. But please, before you decide, let me show you something.”

“What?” I asked.

“You need to understand how things work here,” he explained. “There’s a meeting going on right now. Maybe we can catch the end of it. It’s being run by the viceroy of Leeandra.”

“You want me to speak at a meeting?”

“No!”Boon said quickly, as if the idea actually scared him. “I want you to listen to what they’re discussing. After you hear what they have to say, I’ll go along with whatever you want.”

I put my anger aside and decided that Boon was being pretty fair. He may have been naive about Saint Dane, and a little overeager, but he seemed to be a smart guy. He was trying.

“Okay, fine,” I agreed.

Boon looked visibly relieved. “But please,” he added. “Until that meeting is over, will you go along with me and slip these restraints on your wrists? The klees will think you’re with me and we won’t have any problems.”

The idea of getting tied up and led around like a dog made my mouth go dry. It’s hard to describe the feeling. It was very primal, like I was handing over control of my life and my intellect.

“Trust me,” he added. “It will be much easier this way.”

I answered by holding out my wrists. Boon nodded in thanks and gently slipped the two loops over my hands. He gently tugged the loops tight until they were snug around my wrists. My stomach twisted.

“Now,” he said. “Let me show you Leeandra.”

Boon stepped onto the bridge, and I was happy that he didn’t pull the leash tight. He waited for me to walk beside him. That was good. If he had made me walk behind him I think I would have lost it again. It was then that I noticed the band of light in the sky had moved lower on the horizon. My guess was right; this thing was like the sun. This small revelation made me feel more comfortable. At least I was getting to understand Eelong, even if I wasn’t so thrilled about most of what I was learning. I looked ahead over the sky bridge to a huge tree on the far side. The bridge led to a large portal in the tree, like we were walking over the drawbridge to the entrance of a giant castle. There was dense foliage to either side of it, blocking my view of what was beyond. “You okay?” Boon asked.

“Yeah, whatever” was my answer. Truth was, I wasn’t, but what could I do?

We walked through the portal to find that this hollowed-out tree held a guard station. Two large cats stood in front of a cage that blocked the way. They each held long sticks as weapons and had coils of ropes attached to their belts. They were the same weapons I saw the cat named Kasha use against the tang.

“Boon!” one of the cats shouted jovially. “Where have you been? You missed the wippen tournament!”

“Busy,” Boon answered, trying to sound casual. “How’d it go?”

“Lousy,” the other cat answered. “Those big klees from the north end were too good.”

“They’re no better than us,” the first cat corrected. “They just train more.”

The second cat added, “We needed you, Boon.”

“Next time,” Boon promised. He nodded to the cage door. The first cat swung it open for us.

“New gar?” the cat asked.

I had been looking to the ground the whole time. I was afraid if these big cats looked into my eyes, they might see some hint of intelligence they weren’t used to. But now, I glanced to Boon to see his reaction. Boon gave me a quick, embarrassed look.

“Uh, yeah,” he answered.

“Do yourself a favor,” the first cat said. “Wash him down. He stinks.”