Black Water

JOURNAL #18
(CONTINUED)
EELONG

We stood on the side of a steep hill, looking down on a big, busy village. There was a grand building in the center, with hundreds of smaller huts built out in straight lines likethe spokes of a wheel. The cross streets were circles that got bigger and bigger the farther they were from the center. The huts all looked like round log cabinswith thatch roofs. Though it was nighttime, I could see it all plainly, because the moon was full and there were lamps burning on posts at most every intersection. Lights glowed inside the huts too, making them look warm and inviting.

It’s hard to guesstimate exactly how big the town was, but I’d say it was spread out over a couple of square miles. It was tucked into a hidden valley, surrounded by steep, rocky cliffs. A huge waterfall cascaded down on one end of the valley, feeding a river that wound its way through the center of town and continued out the far side. I couldn’t tell for sure, but it looked like farmland stretched out beyond the huts.

The town was a strange oasis tucked into the mountains of nowhere. The only thing that would have made it more surprising was if there had been snow and a guy with a red suit who made toys and drove a sleigh. The streets were busy with gars hurrying about like, well, like humans. Some rode bicycle vehicles, others drove wagons pulled by zenzens. Their clothes were sturdy and clean, nothing like the rags worn by the gars outside of here. I saw women and children and even some elderly gars, which was surprising, because none of the gars in Leeandra lived long enough to become elderly.

“I’m totally confused,” I stammered out, “I thought gars were…were-“

“Animals?” Gunny said. “They are, everyplace but here.”

I noticed that Kasha and Yorn were standing close together, on all fours, looking stunned. They seemed a whole lot more like animals than earlier that day. Just like that, our roles had reversed.

Aron, the gar, approached Gunny, saying, “We should get to town.”

Gunny said, “I’d like to take my friend and the klees to the hut where I’ve been staying. They’ve come a long way; they’ll need rest and food.”

Aron looked to the klees nervously. “And what if they escape?” he asked.

“I believe your guards at the waterfall will make sure they don’t.”

It was clear that Aron wasn’t cool with having klees here at Black Water.

“If that’s what you want,” he said. “But please keep a few guards with you. We don’t want anything going wrong when the Advent is so near.”

“Thank you,” Gunny said.

Aron went back to the group of gars to give them orders. “What is the Advent, Gunny? ” I asked. “The gars on the outside talk about it.”

“Not now,” Gunny said softly. “Wait till we’re alone.”

The group of gars dispersed, headed for the village. Two gars remained with us to keep their eyes on the klees. Their spear guns were out and ready for trouble. At least they didn’t insist that the cats wear leashes. Score one for the gars on the hospitality scale.

“Who’s hungry?” Gunny asked cheerily.

“I’m starved, ” Yorn answered.

“I could eat too,” I added.

Kasha didn’t answer.

“Good,” Gunny said. “Let’s go to my hut and see what I can find.”

The four of us descended the rocky slope along a twisting path that led to Black Water. The two guards followed close behind.

“I have heard the stories of this place,” Yorn said. “But I dismissed them as fantasy.”

“Evolution took a different path in Black Water,” Gunny explained. “The way it was told to me is that many generations ago, a gar stole food from a klee. As punishment, the klee beat him. But the gar fought back and killed the klee. The gar was going to be put to death, but managed to escape with several others. They eventually found this hidden valley, settled, had children, and learned how to take care of themselves.”

“They created a whole separate civilization?” I asked.

“Exactly,” Gunny answered. “Once they were out from under the klees’ control, they evolved into intelligent beings.”

“So this is a society spawned from murderers and criminals,” Kasha said with disdain.

“You could look at it that way,” Gunny said. “Or you could say it’s an example of what can happen when individuals are given the freedom to grow.”

My thoughts went right back to that horrible gar prison. It pissed me off to know the gars were capable of building their own society, yet the klees treated them like dirt. I didn’t want to hate the klees, but it was hard not to, after seeing Black Water.

We reached the first street of the village and continued along a grass strip that was the road. In fact all the roads were covered with short, firm grass that was like artificial turf. To either side of the road were huts. Delicious food smells drifted from some, along with music that sounded as if it were being made by a flute. Each hut was pretty much the same as the next, except for the well-kept flower gardens in front. Some were elaborate and colorful, others had nicely trimmed hedges. All the plants and the grassy roads made the town feel as if it were a living thing.

I was beginning to get used to this peaceful little village, when the calm was interrupted by a strange hissing noise that quickly grew louder. We all stopped, ready for anything.

“What’s that?” Kasha asked nervously.

“Don’t worry,” Gunny assured us. “It’s watering time.”

Sure enough, there was now a wet mist in the air. I saw that the lampposts doubled as sprinklers. A fine spray of water shot out just beneath the burning lamps in a three-sixty arc, sending moisture into the air. A look down the street proved all the lampposts were active.

“Every inch of Black Water is covered,” Gunny explained. “It’s very impressive.”

It wasn’t rain, but more like a fine mist. Probably just enough to keep all the flowers and shrubs happy.

“Unbelievable,” Kasha uttered in awe.

We passed several gars along the way. Their reaction to the klees was always the same. Fear. They ran to the other side of the street. Some picked up their children to protect them, or slammed the doors of their huts. I felt nervous eyes peering at us from windows everywhere. Nobody seemed happy about having two klees strolling through Black Water. “Ow!” Yorn yelled.

Somebody had thrown a rock at him and run away. Kasha stood up and snarled angrily, but Gunny quickly blocked her way.

“Easy now, missy,” he said. “Remember, you don’t have friends here. If you pick a fight, you’ll lose.”

“I’m fine, Kasha,” Yorn assured her.

Kasha’s ears were back in anger, but she didn’t do anything about it.

“This is my hut,” Gunny said. “Let’s all relax and go inside.”

The two guards stayed outside, one at the door, the other near the single window. When we entered, I saw that the hut was pretty simple. There was only one room with wooden furniture. Gunny went to the area that was the kitchen and opened up a locker that was stocked with fresh fruit and vegetables.

“Make yourselves at home,” he said. “I hope you’re as hungry as I am.”

We all sat down and Gunny put a load of fruit and a loaf of bread on a low table in front of us. He and I dug in. We broke off big chunks of bread and I ate pieces of this awesome fruit that was as sweet and juicy as anything I’d tasted at home. Yorn and Kasha didn’t move.

“Please eat,” Gunny said warmly. “We’re all friends.”

“I thought you said we had no friends here,” Kasha said snottily.

“Outside this hut, you don’t,” Gunny said. “But in here, we’re on the same side.”

“Then as long as we are among friends,” Yorn said, “I’m going to eat.” He reached forward and grabbed himself some fruit.

Kasha grudgingly picked up one of the blue apples and nibbled on it quietly. As we ate, I brought Gunny up to speed with what happened on Veelox. He needed to know that Saint Dane had crushed his first territory, which made our task on Eelong that much more important. He couldn’t be allowed to win again. I went into a ton of detail about Lifelight and the Reality Bug and how Saint Dane nearly caused the deaths of millions of people. I did it for Gunny’s sake, but I also wanted Kasha to hear how dangerous Saint Dane could be.

Gunny, in turn, told us about his time on Eelong.

“When I stepped out of that tree with the flume,” he began, “my, my, I was taken with Eelong. I’d never seen a place so beautiful. I was swept away, which was a mistake because I let my guard down. I went looking for the locals and came upon a band of gars. ‘Course, I didn’t know they were called gars at the time. Two of ‘em picked wild berries while three others stood guard. They were all looking around, like they were doing something wrong, or scared something was about to happen. That should have been my first hint that Eelong wasn’t exactly paradise. Just as I was about to talk to them, I was attacked. It was so fast I didn’t have a chance to defend myself.”

“Was it a tang, or a quig?” I asked.

“It was one of them sneaky lizards. It did a real number on me. It’s how I lost this,” he said while holding up his injured arm. “It could have been worse. If it weren’t for the gars, I’d be a memory. They came to my rescue, and the next thing I knew, I woke up here in Black Water.” Gunny chuckled and added, “They thought I was some kind of king from a distant land, being so tall and dark. I let ‘em go on believing it too. They fixed me up and took care of my arm.” He looked at his arm with sadness. “It’s strange. I feel like my hand is still there until I reach for something and then…”

His voice trailed off. I couldn’t imagine what it would be like to lose my hand. I felt horrible for him.

“The gars explained to me about how the klees were running the show. It took me a while to get my mind around the idea that cats could be so smart. I’m still having trouble with it, no offense.”

“None taken,” Yorn said.

“How did you meet my father?” Kasha asked.

“That’s where I came in,” Yorn answered. “Gunny returned to the flume. I met him there, and took him to meet Seegen.”

“So you already knew Black Water was real?” Kasha asked Yorn.

“No, I didn’t,” Yorn answered.

Gunny said, “I only told Seegen, the Traveler. But this is where things start getting interesting.”

“It’s already pretty interesting,” I threw in.

Gunny said, “I need to show you all something. If you’ve had enough to eat, let’s go for another walk.”

We left the hut and Gunny led us toward the center of town. The gar guards followed, keeping a close eye on Kasha and Yorn. Gunny brought us to a large, four-story building that was designed like all the other log huts, only it was huge. It’s hard to say for sure how big it was, but I’m guessing it covered a couple of acres.

“They call this the Center,” Gunny explained. “It’s where the village rulers meet. In one section they manufacture clothes and tools. Another area is for recreation, where they have concerts and such. They’re pretty good, too.” Gunny said to the guards, “Wait for us here, please.”

The guards didn’t like that. “But-“

“I said, wait for us here.” Gunny was a persuasive guy, though I suppose it helped that Travelers knew how to use the power of suggestion. I wasn’t so good at it, but Gunny looked as if he was a master. The gars backed off and we went inside. We walked down a long corridor with many doors on either side and ended up at a large, black door that looked kind of ominous. Gunny stopped there and turned to us, saying, “Behind this door is not only the future for the gars, but it could very well be the future for all of Eelong.”

“I’m intrigued,” Yorn said.

Gunny opened the door and we stepped into a massive room that I can best describe as a giant greenhouse. Looking up, I saw that the high ceiling was made of glass. Stars could be seen twinkling in the night sky. On the floor were long rows of different sized plants, all holding the most incredible, healthy-looking fruits and vegetables I’d ever seen. There were vines with long, yellow, tubular fruits; bushes laden with orange-size berries; stalks that held the familiar blue apples, but ones twice the size of those I had picked; and trees that were hanging heavy with long, red ropelike fruits that pulled the branches toward the ground. Gunny picked off one of these long fruits and broke it into several pieces, offering them to us. I took a bite to find it had the snap of an apple’s texture, but tasted more like citrus. It was the closest thing to chewing lemonade that I could imagine.

“I guess you could call this a laboratory,” Gunny explained. “The gars have figured out a way to grow plants in air.”

“In air?” I exclaimed. “No dirt?”

“And no water,” Gunny added.

Gunny pushed aside a plant to reveal a heavy, black frame. It reminded me of the thing my grandfather used to grow roses on. It was like a grid, with six-inch squares. I looked around the room to see that all the plants were growing on these black grids. Some were flat on the floor and the plants grew up from it. Others were on end, like a wall, and the healthy plants grew all over it.

“It’s all about this material they invented,” Gunny explained. “They call it ‘Virloam.’ Whatever it’s made of, it somehow takes moisture and nourishment out of the air. Don’t ask me how, but it does. The plants love it. They grow like crazy. Look at how big the fruit gets!”

“So they don’t need water?” Kasha said, as if she couldn’t believe it was true.

“Except for what the virloam gets out of the air,” Gunny said. “They don’t need fertilizer, either. It’s amazing stuff. The gars have more food than they know what to do with.”

“This is incredible!” Kasha exclaimed. “Virloam could help feed all of Eelong!”

“It could,” Gunny said. “But it won’t.”

“Why not?” Kasha demanded.

“There’s more to see, c’mon,” Gunny said.

We walked through the greenhouse, passing by hundreds of plants with the most incredibly healthy-looking fruits and vegetables I could imagine. Kasha was right. This technology could save Eelong.

“I don’t get it, Gunny,” I said. “If the food problem goes away, then the klees won’t have to overturn Edict Forty-six and start hunting gars.”

“That’s true,” Gunny said. “But the gars have other plans.”

We arrived at the far side of the greenhouse and another large, black door. Gunny said, “You asked me why the gars call Black Water ‘home’? The answer is in here.”