D. MacHale - Black Water

Spader ran to Courtney and gave her a big hug, spinning her off her feet. “We did it,” he shouted with joy. “We beat him!”

Mark finally let his guard down. Now that the pressure was off, he couldn’t help himself. He cried.

Boon and Kasha’s reactions weren’t as huge. The acolyte touched his Traveler on the shoulder and said, “Seegen was right. You were the one.”

Kasha gave him a sad smile.

Rather than joining in, Bobby chose to walk away from the group and watch the happy gars who continued streaming into Black Water. Their celebration continued at full throttle, getting bigger as more gars arrived.

Gunny approached Bobby and watched the festivities for a few moments, then said, “How does it feel to witness the birth of a new civilization?”

“It’s awesome,” Bobby answered. “I’m happy for them. I’m pretty happy for us, too. It’s good not being dead.”

The two chuckled.

“We did the right thing, Bobby. Especially after what happened on Veelox. Eelong is safe. Saint Dane won’t have his next territory.”

Bobby let that sink in a moment, then said, “You’re right. We didn’t have a choice. But this war isn’t over. I’m just worried about what we might have to do to beat him next time.”

Gunny nodded thoughtfully. “I better go inside and figure out how to explain this all to Aron.”

Gunny left Bobby alone with his thoughts. They had beaten Saint Dane. Again. Eelong had reached its turning point and all signs now indicated a bright future for the territory. There was still work to be done. The rift between the gars and the klees wouldn’t be mended easily, but Bobby felt sure that without Saint Dane around to mess things up, it would be possible. Yet Bobby was still troubled. Saint Dane had dared Bobby to stop him. He went so far as to tell Bobby exactly what his plan was for Eelong. That’s how confident he was that his evil plan would succeed.

But it didn’t. Bobby beat him. It took the help of Mark and Courtney, acolytes from a different territory, but they saved Eelong from destruction. Bobby asked himself if that was all there was to it. He wanted to believe it was true. Certainly there was plenty of proof in front of him. The oppressed race of gars was not only safe, they had the chance to save all of Eelong from starving. It seemed so right.

Yet Bobby didn’t feel right.

He watched the joyous gars, trying to draw proof from the scene that all was well. They were dancing in the jammed streets in the most amazing street party Bobby had ever seen. Everyone had a smile on his face and a happy tear in his eye. All but one person.

It was a little, blond girl who looked to be no more than five years old. She stood alone, on top of one of the huts. She stood out from the others in that she wasn’t dancing or singing or hugging any of the gars. She looked strangely familiar, but Bobby didn’t know why. He took a few steps closer to get a better look, when the little girl turned and stared at him.

Bobby stood stone still. He remembered her. She was the little girl who welcomed him when he returned to Black Water. She had stepped out from the crowd of gars arid handed him a white flower. Bobby remembered the flower, and he remembered her eyes. They were blue. Piercing blue. And as she looked at him now, her blue eyes seemed sharper than he remembered. More intense. It was like she was looking right through him.

A cold chill crept up Bobby’s spine. His mind went to a place he didn’t want it to go. But he had no choice, because a moment later the little girl started to laugh. It wasn’t a happy laugh. It had a touch of lunacy that cut through Bobby’s soul.

The little girl called out to him. She said three words. Three words that meant nothing to any of the gars who danced beneath her. They meant nothing to most every living being on Eelong. But it didn’t matter. The words were meant for Bobby, and Bobby alone. When he heard them, his knees went soft.

The little girl cried out, “On to Zadaa!”

“Saint Dane!” Bobby shouted and ran for her. But when he reached the hut and climbed on top, the little girl was gone.

(CONTINUED)

Gunny was right. They had witnessed the birth of a new civilization.

Once the multitude of gars completed their journey to Black Water, their hosts took on the huge task of settling them down, giving them a place to sleep, and providing meals. The logistics were staggering, but the Black Water gars had been preparing for years. They were ready. The bigger challenge would come next, as they worked to educate their primitive cousins and set them on a course toward a civilized life.

But this alone wouldn’t be enough to cure Eelong. The gars still had to confront their enemies, the klees. Though some gars wanted revenge for the history of horrible treatment, those with a larger vision understood that for Eelong to prosper, the two races had to coexist.

Gunny and Bobby went a long way toward mending fences by explaining to Aron how one single klee was responsible for the attack on Black Water. Timber. They convinced him that once Timber was thrown out and the klees were shown how the gars could help end the food problem on Eelong, the klees would no longer feel threatened and begin to look at the gars as equals. It was a good theory, one that Aron hoped would prove true.

Aron never told any of the gars how close they had come to destruction. He wasn’t entirely sure he believed it himself. He wanted to look forward, rather than worry about the past. Aron would prove to be a wise leader. But the task still remained to confront the other side-the klees.

That job tell to Kasha and Boon. The Travelers and the acolytes made the long journey back to Leeandra, along with Aron and a few of the Black Water leaders. Kasha and Bobby were still fugitives. Boon was too, for having stolen the zenzens. They didn’t want to arrive back in the city only to be arrested, so they returned with an impressive show of force that the klees could not ignore. No less than fifty gars marched on Leeandra. Each rode on zenzens (even Mark), wearing dark cloaks and body armor. They also carried spearguns. They had no intention of using them; they wanted to put on a show that would prove to the klees that they were a force to be reckoned with.

Leading the group were the klees, Kasha and Boon. They boldly led the others into the wippen stadium to demand a meeting with the Council of Klee. What they found was something they never could have predicted.

Leeandra was a city in shambles.

Once the gars fled, the klees discovered how integral they were to running the city. The gars had done all of the menial jobs the klees weren’t interested in. Now that they were gone, the elevators and trams broke down; the flow of water was stopped because the elaborate system of pipes wasn’t kept clean; and worst of all, food was becoming even more scarce because the foragers weren’t willing to risk their lives to go outside Leeandra without the gars to protect them. Leeandra was paralyzed.

It was the perfect situation for Kasha and Boon. Together with Aron, they went immediately to the Circle of Klee to find Ranjin, the former viceroy. Ranjin was quick to grant them an audience. The group learned from Ranjin that after the failure of the attack on Black Water, Timber disappeared. (No big surprise.)

Kasha told Ranjin the truth about the gars. He listened closely as she explained how the gars were actually intelligent beings. She described how the gars had developed advanced farming techniques that could mean the end of the food shortage. Aron made sure that Ranjin understood the gars would help feed the klees, but only if they were treated as equals. The klees would have to put aside all their old prejudices and accept that the gars were not animals.