Moving the Bones\n(ABC)\n\n“Clar’s breath, Sara! Can’t you slow down a little?” exclaimed Selene, as she held onto the edge of her seat in an attempt to keep her head from hitting the roof. The night was particularly dark as Sara drove the speeding vehicle down the undulating dirt road that led from the dig site to the main road. She was exasperated; they were probably twenty minutes behind the truck. It turned out that Maggie had stayed at the site until the truck was loaded and on its way, and then took her time leaving after that. Sara had wanted to wait for some time after Maggie left so she wouldn’t see their headlights behind her on the lonely road to the main highway. And then, on top of that, she had to argue with Jacob, who showed up at the last minute wanting to go along. Nothing Sara could say would deter him, and finally her impatience to leave overcame her resistance and she capitulated.\n\nSelene said in a shaky voice, “Come on, Sara, this is crazy. Why don’t you slow down just a little? We know where the truck is going.” “We can’t afford to, Selene,” replied Sara. “We have to catch up to the truck before it gets to Rivertown. We don’t know if it will go right to the museum or stop somewhere beforehand.” Selene replied, “Yes we do. The Birther was loaded on first. They would have to unload everything else to get to it.” “They could still do that,” said Sara, as the car crested another rise in the road. “Ouch!” cried Selene, rubbing her head. “Well, aren’t you afraid that you’ll catch up to Maggie at this rate?” “No,” Sara replied. “She lives outside the city and is probably twenty dashes south of the main road by now. She turns off about ten dashes before you get to the city limits. Besides, we probably only have about five more dashes before we hit paved road anyway.” For Selene it seemed like 50 dashes, a banged shoulder, and another bump on the head before they reached the main road. There was still no sight of the truck, however, even with increasing their speed still further on the paved highway. Finally they reached the sign that read “Welcome to Rivertown—Home of the World Champion Jazelles,” and still had not caught sight of the truck. Sara was very upset. She slowed down a little and began blowing air between her tightly pursed lips. “Well, I guess we just have to head to the museum and hope for the best.” “I don’t know why you put us through this,” Selene replied. “We’re going to go to the museum, and the truck will be there anyway. Don’t worry.” Sara could barely see the silhouette of the large museum building against the dark sky as they drove down a street that formed a “T” with the one the museum was on. As they got a little closer, she could see the street lights reflecting off the dark brick of the building. They cast ghostly shadows from the bushes that separated the building from the street. The lights also lit the white sides of the museum truck as it sat near the service entrance, a long ramp extending from the back. “Damn! They’ve already started to unload,” she said, as she slowed the car to a stop down the street. “Calm down,” said Selene. “They couldn’t possibly have had time to stop somewhere else, unload everything, take the remains out, and then load back up to come over here.” “I suppose you’re right. Well, I guess we just watch closely. Look, they’re taking off that irrigation tool.” Sara pulled the car to the side of the road under a large tree, shut down the engine, and they watched in silence as the men unloaded the various pieces Sara and Selene knew so well.\n\nAfter watching for several minutes, Selene rubbed her hands together and said, “Are you starting to feel better about this now?” “I will,” replied Sara, “just as soon as they unload the Birther, and maybe not even then.” “Well, I hope we can still get back to the dig tonight. I have a lot to do tomorrow, and I’d like to get started first thing in the—” Suddenly she let out a startled shriek.\nThere had been a sharp rap on the window next to Selene. Looking past her, Sara could see Maggie staring in at them. Selene slowly rolled down the window, and Maggie said, “What are you three doing here?” Sara paused and looked down a moment, then quickly looked back at her boss and replied, “We could ask you the same thing, Maggie.” “I’m supervising the unloading of the truck, what else?” Sara looked at her for a brief moment and then replied, “Well, I didn’t know you did that. And Jacob and I were concerned about the safety of the Birther, so we asked Selene to go with us and make sure the cargo got here okay.” “Well, then, why are you skulking around out here? Why didn’t you come up to the dock?” Selene spoke up then and said, “I convinced her that we shouldn’t be doing this, Maggie. I guess I felt guilty leaving the dig.” \nMaggie nodded her head and said, “Well, you should. You need to be putting in all of your time there. You know we only have another month left on our permit. That area’s going to be under water when they complete that dam, and whatever is there will be lost forever. Now that you’ve seen the truck has arrived safely, why don’t you all just head back out to the site? I’ll make sure everything is taken care of here.” Selene said to Sara, “Come on, Sara, let’s go. We can still get a couple hours’ sleep before morning.” Sara nodded her head and said, “Okay. We’ll see you later, Maggie.” With that, she started the car and slowly pulled away. Selene looked back and waved to Maggie, who did not return the gesture. \n\nSara drove down the street to the “T” and took a left, going past the truck. She proceeded past several streets and then took another left. After driving a few blocks farther, she made a complete U-turn, pulling over to the side of the street. Selene said, “Sara! What are you doing now? If Maggie catches us here we’ll lose our jobs for sure.” “I don’t trust her, Selene,” replied Sara. “If that truck goes by I want to follow it.” “Oh great! And what are we going to do—sit here all night and watch out for it?” “Don’t worry, Selene, if we don’t see it in twenty minutes we can leave. Okay?” “It’s not okay, Sara. You are really going off the deep end. I’m getting really worried about you. Your paranoia about Maggie really seems to be getting out of hand. After we finish up at the dig site I think that you should take some time off and—” “I think Sara’s right,” interrupted Jacob. “I think Maggie’s up to something.” Selene swung around to look back at him and said, “Oh good, Jacob. And you’re an expert on people’s intentions. Why don’t you just stay out of this and let me talk some sense into Sara’s head. Okay?” Jacob started to reply, but Sara interrupted him. “It’s all right, Jacob. Maybe Selene is right. Let’s go get some sleep.” Selene looked over at Sara and said, “Now that’s the smartest thing you’ve said all night.” Sara just nodded and said, “You live here in Rivertown, don’t you, Selene?” “Yes. Why?” “Well, I do too. Since it’s so late, why don’t we sleep in our own beds tonight and then head back to the site first thing in the morning? Jacob can stay at my place, on the couch.” A small smile came over Selene’s face as she replied, “That’s fine with me.” “What do you say, Jacob?” asked Sara. “I like that idea,” he replied. “Okay, then, let’s drop Selene off,” said Sara.\n\n“We’ll pick you up at 8:00 tomorrow morning Selene, I think we need a little extra sleep, don’t you?” said Sara. Selene smiled at Sara and said, “Good idea. You and Jacob take your time in the morning and I’ll see you when you get here.” She winked at Sara and turned to go up the walkway toward the small house. Sara waited until Selene opened the front door and then pulled away heading quickly down the dark street. “Why are you driving so fast, Sara?” asked Jacob, as they swerved around corners. “Because I want to get back to the museum before the truck leaves, that’s why,” she replied, and was surprised that he didn’t ask why. \n\nThey were about three blocks from the museum when Jacob shouted, “There it goes!” “Keep your eyes on it,” said Sara. “We don’t know where they’re going this time. I don’t want to lose it.” “Okay,” said Jacob. “There, he’s turning left.” There were no other cars on the road, so Sara tried to keep well back from truck so they wouldn’t seem to be following. Many times the truck turned well ahead of them, and she would speed up and turn the corner, in fear that the truck would turn again quickly. “It looks like they’re headed for the center of town,” said Jacob. “I wonder where they’re going?” “I think I know,” said Sara. “Where?” “Let’s just wait and see. If I’m correct, we should be there in a few more blocks.” Sara slowed the car even more, looking around frequently to make sure there were no other cars following. “I lost sight of them,” said Jacob. “Don’t worry, said Sara, I’m pretty sure they’re going to be around the next corner. I’m going to stop here and we’re gong to get out and walk the rest of the way.”\n\nPulling the car to the side of the road Sara turned it off and climbed out into the darkness. There were no street lamps and it took a few moments for her eyes to adjust. Tall brick buildings towered above them with just a few windows high off the ground and fronted with metal bars. Jacob exited the other side and silently walked beside her as they moved down the street. As they reached the corner and peered around they could see the truck parked next to a large round brick building with a small box of a building connected to it. “It’s the Birth Chambers!” exclaimed Jacob in a whisper. \n\n[[Continue|Next Morning]]

The Lake\n(BBC)\n\nKerena smiled at the sounds of the children and adolescents splashing in the warm waters of the lake. Its dark blue waves sparkled in the light of the sun, which was just above the top of the mountain range on her right. A cool breeze blew across the lake into Kerena’s face and lifted her hair from her shoulders as she scanned her eyes to the left along the shoreline to follow the dark green pine forested slope down to almost level, straight across from her position. Continuing her scan around to the left she observed that the forest thinned more and more until there was a stretch of sparse, mostly dead trees, intermixed with grasses and tall reeds. Soon this gave way to the plain upon which they had approached the lake. \n\nEveryone was fascinated by the huge body of water. Many of the adults were now wading into its inviting waters and, picking up from the children, splashing and jumping up and down. Suddenly one of the children screamed and came running toward shore. Quickly Neela and Maave dashed over to the spot where the child had been. Everyone became still and quiet as they watched the women who were now staring down into the water. Shortly Neela began to chuckle, soon followed by Maave. Neela turned to the group smiling and said, “We will not go hungry here Kerena, there are many large fish!” The group erupted in laughter and cheers as the child who ran from the water was pushed back out to see what had scared her so. Maave put her arm around the child’s shoulder and said, “We will need to teach you how to catch these tasty fish little one.”\n\nKerena was standing on a wide flat stretch of sand at the mouth of a river that drained into the lake. She could see that this spot was probably only exposed during the dry season. She was amazed at the size of the lake. They had first spotted it the day Fanta died and now, two mornings since they buried her, were just reaching its shores. Some of the adolescent girls had wanted to run ahead to the lake, but instead Kerena sent Neela, with a scouting party of hunters, ahead. Their instructions were to make straight for the shore and then turn west. They were to be on watch for clar and Laker people, and to search for a suitable site to establish the new bunda. They were to return immediately upon discovering any one of the three or after the second morning. They returned, just as the main group was approaching the lake, with very interesting and unsettling news. Neela reported no clar sightings, although there were signs of them many places. They also had found an abandoned bunda very close to where they stood now. \n\nKerena had insisted that they go inspect the bunda first. When they arrived at the site the first surprise was that there were no signs of a wall built around the settlement and the huts were falling down from the holes torn in them. Kerena instructed the Birthers to take the children off to the side with a hand full of hunters to guard them. Everyone else was to spread out and inspect the entire site. A terrible struggle clearly had taken place here, perhaps just a few weeks ago; signs were everywhere. There were spears stuck in the ground, stained with blood. Bits of torn clothing and broken pottery were everywhere. In their panic, these people must have been throwing anything they could at the clar. There were several clar carcasses, obviously eaten by others of their species. This could only mean that these people had not succeeded in killing all of them. A bad sign indeed. A clar will not retreat or run off. The only way to stop an attack by a group was to kill them all. Suddenly a cry went up from a small group of her people on the back side of the settlement. Kerena hurried over to where they were standing. When she got close enough her mouth fell open in disgust as she exclaimed, “Oh no!” There on the ground were the remains of many Laker people, including those of Birthers. Kerena was starting to put together what had happened. The bunda had been attacked by a large group of clar, perhaps at night. She couldn’t believe that they would build a bunda this close to water and not build a wall around it. They must have retreated to this spot and circled around the Birthers and young ones, but could not hold off the onslaught. Kerena walked past the carnage and noticed a trail through the grass heading off toward the mountains where the survivors must have run. The clar would have chased, but if only able bodied adults were left, the Lakers would easily out run the clar. Most likely the clar chased only a short distance and then returned to feast on the many bodies of people and animals left behind. Kerena then had instructed her people to identify any birther remains they could find and bury them together. Later, after they had built their own bunda, they would return and burn the huts and other remains. It was difficult to leave them like this but she couldn’t risk drawing attention to their presence. As they walked down to the lake her people had been very quiet. This had been a sobering reminder for everyone of the importance of bunda walls. \n\nAs Kerena watched her people playing in the water she nodded her head. She could see that this was a very tempting place to build a bunda but what were they going to use to build the walls? Plenty of water and food nearby but the forest was too far away, all the way on the other side of the lake. And it looked like they would have to cross a mountain to the right or a swamp to the left in order to get to the trees. She understood why the previous inhabitants must have decided to just settle without the walls. They clearly had paid very dearly for that decision. Kerena stepped forward and shouted to get her peoples attention, “Come, come; I want all of the adults to join me over here, and the children must now be quite and move out of the lake to the edge of the clearing and listen as well. Slowly, reluctantly, everyone moved out of the water. The birthers led the children and adolescents to the edge of the clearing and had them sit in rows. The adults circled around Kerena as she knelt in the sand. Taking a stick she started to draw. “I’m very worried. This place is too good. I don’t believe we are the only ones here, or that the clar are not around.” The others nodded, their faces becoming stern as they realized she was right. They awaited Kerena’s directions. Kerena continued, “We must have walls for our bunda but from here I can’t tell which direction is better.” Drawing in the sand she said, “This is the lake here. Neela, you will choose two hunters to take with you and head off to the left. Go as quickly as you can but carefully, looking for clar sign. You will be in the open most of the time so stay low and listening for other people as well. I want you to make it around to those dead trees and then turn back. You should be back by nightfall. I believe that you will run into a swamp and you may not be able to go further.” Neela nodded and pointed to two of the women who also nodded. Kerena now turned to Maave and said, “Maave you will take two with you and head to the right until the ground begins to slope steeply up that mountain and then return. You also must look for clar and listen for people. Try to make it back by tomorrow.” Neela now spoke up, “Kerena, we know what to do if we run into clar, but what are we to do if we find people?” Kerena paused at this question. I have never considered this before, she mused. I don’t know what we should do. We have always fought with the Laker people. I do not believe that they will be friendly. Maybe that destroyed bunda we found was the only one. They could be completely unorganized and on the run. As far as I can see around the lake I don’t see anything else. Everyone in the group watched apprehensively as Kerena obviously was pondering her decision. Finally she spoke, “We must make peace with the Laker people if we are going to live here. We have no choice and the sooner we start the better. However, we don’t know if they will accept us and try to drive us away. We must be able to bargain from a position of strength, which means we need our bunda walls constructed. We’ve got to figure out how to do that. Teros quickly stepped forward saying, “I know how to do that Kerena.” Everyone turned to look at him. They had come to expect clever ideas from Teros and they all waited for his answer. Kerena nodded, “Go ahead Teros.” “We will float the walls here,” he said. Immediately a murmur went up from here people. Kerena, somewhat amused by this outlandish statement replied, “What are you talking about Teros?” He responded in his usual, very excited manner, “We will need a party to go around the lake with axes to the forest on the other side. Your scouting parties should return with an idea of how easy it will be to get there. Perhaps they can try to go further than you have asked them,” he said in a deferential manner, not wanting to detract from her leadership. “I don’t know which way will be easier, over the mountain or through that swamp, but we will only have to do it once.” The murmur from the people grew even louder with this statement. “Go on,” said Kerena. “Once the felling party gets to the forest we will cut trees and strap them together with vines to make something that the people can ride on top of the water.” The sound of her people grew even louder as the discussed this funny idea. It grew so loud that Kerena had to shout, “Quiet please. I want to hear the rest of Teros’ plan; go ahead Teros, how will this floating beast with our people on top help us to build our bunda walls?” Teros grew even more excited as he replied, “This wall on the water will help carry the logs! After we get it built we will put logs on top and then using sticks we will push our way back across the lake carrying the logs. We will unload the logs on this side and then go back and get more. We could even build several of these carrying walls if we wanted to go faster. It all depends on how many people you want to use.” Kerena didn’t know how to respond. She didn’t know how the heavy walls that took five strong men to lift were going to float on the water, especially with people and logs on top of them. It seemed impossible. As she looked around at her people she saw that she was not alone in thinking this. Some were smiling, some laughing, a few nodded their heads. She knew she needed to bring order and move everyone on. “OK Teros, we will have time enough to see if your idea works. Let’s first find out how to get to the forest. Neela, Maave, gather your party and get moving. If you encounter Laker people, use your judgment. If they look alone, scattered or scared, befriend them. Invite them to join us. Otherwise keep your distance and return immediately here. Now go quickly and Jazelle speed your return.” Neela and Maave grabbed their weapons, conferred briefly with their team and were shortly out of sight. \n\n[[Continue|Scouts Return]]

Solanta\n(as told by Jacob)\n\n“Once, over a hundred years ago, during the dark ages of war, there was a leader named Solanta. She was a great fighter and led her people into many victorious battles.”\n “Yes, we learned of Solanta in school, Jacob,” Sara interrupted. “She is famous for ending the wars and reuniting the people. To this day, we follow the traditions of waiting, mediation, and forgiveness that she started.” Jacob nodded his head and said, “Yes, but you may not have heard the story that my home father says was the source of Solanta’s wisdom.” “Okay. Go ahead, then, tell me.” Jacob continued. “So you know that it was a horrible time for our world. War raged over much of the land as the towns, which were called [[bundas|Bunda]] then, fought against each other to gain control of the hunting grounds. The battles were fierce, and many, many fighters died in the field from their wounds. Many of the bundas were overtaken because their Birth Chambers could not keep up with the losses they had suffered and they ran out of fighters.”\n“Yes, yes, I know all of this, Jacob. The reason Solanta’s bunda was so successful was that they took the effort to bring their wounded home with them after the battles, so they could heal.”\nJacob sighed, looking at Sara for a moment, then dropped his eyes and remained silent.\nSara waited for him to continue, then realizing why he wasn’t, said “I’m sorry, Jacob. I’ll let you finish your story uninterrupted. Go ahead, I’ll listen.”\n\nJacob looked back up, searching Sara’s eyes; she was amazed at how penetrating his gaze was. She could see the dancing flames of the fire reflected in those dark pools. At last, he continued. “Well, as you know, Solanta’s bunda was very successful. But Solanta had a great advantage that no one knew about; her bunda had a Birther.” Jacob paused then, as if he were expecting Sara to interrupt. When she said nothing, he went on. “At first, when Solanta started to bring her wounded home, they were put in one large building, called a hospital. There they were allowed to rest, and were given as much food as the bunda could afford. But many of them still died. In fact, so many were dying, that Solanta’s fighters were starting to get frustrated with this practice, but she insisted that they continue. One day, many years later, Solanta noticed that more and more of the injured were healing and able to return to her battle group, some quite quickly. Solanta was grateful for this, and she assumed that the men who worked at the hospital were finally figuring out better ways to heal the soldiers’ injuries. This was true, to an extent, but Solanta didn’t find out the real reason until she herself was wounded in battle.\n\nJacob paused again and Sara said, “Go ahead, so far this sounds just like my history lesson.” Jacob replied, “Well we’ll see if you learned this. As you probably learned Solanta was injured quite badly, a deep wound in her side, and was brought back to the hospital, sure that she would die. Lying on a mat in a large room with the others who had been wounded, she watched attentively as a short, heavy-set young woman came over to her and carefully placed a hand to her forehead. Instantly she felt her pain subside and looked down at her side, almost expecting the wound to be gone. Watching in fascination, Solanta saw the woman apply a wet cloth to her side and felt her touching the wound lightly with her fingers. Then the woman gently placed her hand on Solanta’s head again, and she fell into a deep sleep. When she awoke, Solanta called the strange woman to her side to question her about these strange ministrations. The woman did not answer, but only smiled and started to walk away. Solanta grew very annoyed at this and reached out to grab the woman’s arm and roughly pull her back. The woman turned and placed her hand on Solanta’s arm. Instantly Solanta’s anger drained away. She released the woman’s arm and watched as she walked away. Solanta was amazed to find out later that the woman could not speak. She also learned that it was this woman who had been responsible for all of the healing.” Unable to contain herself, Sara blurted out, “But where did this Birther come from, Jacob?” Jacob shook his head. “I don’t know. I asked that question myself. My home father only smiled and said that she was both the result of, and the source of, Solanta’s wisdom.” Sara asked, “What did he mean by that?” “I don’t know what he meant by ‘the result of,’ but he told us that Solanta had learned much about controlling emotions from the Birther. He also told us that she used these lessons in later years, after she had conquered and united many bundas, to get the people to stop fighting and take time to calm themselves, encouraging them to talk things over and learn the art of compromise.” “Very interesting,” said Sara. “That was a good story, Jacob. But I think it left me with more questions than answers.” “That’s my answer to your question, though,” said Jacob. “What question?” said Sara. “Why I’m so interested in Birthers.”\n“Oh, yes. I did ask you that didn’t I. I guess it does answer that question.”\n\nAfter sitting a few moments in silence, Jacob spoke about the current situation. “Sara, why is Maggie in such a hurry to move the Birther’s bones?” That, my dear Jacob, is the big question, thought Sara. “I don’t really know, Jacob. I guess Maggie is worried that too many people will find out about this and it will get back to the High Council.” “And we’ll be accused of fabricating evidence, and they’ll destroy it,” said Jacob, looking up. Sara stared in disbelief, having difficulty associating the image of the man she saw before her with the insightful comment. Nodding her head, she said, “That’s possible, Jacob. I certainly have first-hand evidence that suggests that the Council would take such measures.” Jacob then leaned his head closer to hers and, in a hushed voice, asked, “Do you think Maggie might do that to our find, Sara?”\n\nFor a moment Sara stared at Jacob with her mouth open and thought: Would she? Is that why she’s acting so strange? It doesn’t make sense, though. Maggie’s been as persistent a researcher as I have. Finally she said to Jacob, “I don’t think so, Jacob. Maggie’s job is to foster the discovery of the past. I’ve always known her to be interested in finding Birthers. It just wouldn’t make sense if she destroyed the remains after all of this work.” Jacob looked up sheepishly and said, “Well, I suppose you’re right. It just seems like she should be more supportive.” Sara did not reply, and they both fell silent as Sara drew back into her own thoughts while Jacob patiently waited. He may be right though, thought Sara. The way Maggie has been acting, it sure makes it seem like she cares more about moving the bones than preserving them. Suddenly she said out loud, “You know Jacob, there is a chance you might be right.” Maybe I should just follow those bones back to the museum and make sure they’re safe.” The crunch of sand underfoot made them look up as Selene walked into the firelight. “Well, what have we here?” cracked Selene. “Hello, Jacob,” she said, then with a smirk on her face looked over and nodded, “Sara.” Sara scowled at Selene and said, “Hello, Selene. Jacob was just asking me to help keep him on the job out at N47. He was also just leaving. Weren’t you, Jacob?”\n“Ah . . . yes,” he said as he climbed down from the chair and turned to face Sara. Bowing his head slightly, he said, “Thank you. This is very important to me.” Sara just replied, “Good night, Jacob,” and watched as he turned and walked past Selene, wishing her good night. Sara followed his form as it disappeared into the darkness, her last image of him the lighted soles of his feet.\n“Good night, Jacob,” Selene called after him, then stood there staring at Sara, shaking her head and smiling. “I don’t want any smart remarks,” Sara warned. “Oh, no, I wouldn’t dream of it,” replied Selene as she walked over and sat down in the chair Jacob had just left. “But what were you two really talking about?” Sara pursed her lips and said, “He came to ask me to help keep him on N47.” “And what did you tell him?” “I told him that it was really up to Maggie, but that he wouldn’t have to worry if he kept his mouth shut and didn’t go on about it being a Birther.” “Yes, that does seem to be a sore point with Maggie, doesn’t it?” Sara nodded her head and said, “You know, Selene, I’m really starting to worry about Maggie’s position on this find and on Birthers in general.” “What do you mean?” “Well, I was worried that it was just me, but even Jacob has noticed that Maggie seems to be acting funny about this. I think she might be thinking about covering this up.” Selene looked incredulous and said, “No way, Sara. Maggie has been too supportive of our search these past couple of years. She’s wanted to find a Birther just as much as we have.” “That’s just it, Selene. We’re not the only dig site that Maggie and the museum are sponsoring. What if she wants to find all of the remains of Birthers and get rid of them?” Selene reached over and touched Sara’s arm. “Sara, I think you are becoming way too paranoid about this. Maggie is not the enemy.” Sara looked at her for a moment and then said, “I’ve been trying to remind myself of that, but I’m not the only one who sees this in Maggie. When I told Jacob that I had heard that the archaeological society has moved in on such finds before, declaring them hoaxes and destroying them, he actually asked me if I thought Maggie would do that.” “Oh, and since when do you look to Jacob to validate your hypotheses?” Selene demanded. “I’ll admit that I was surprised, but I’m starting to look at Jacob in a new light.” “Yes, I could see that when I walked up.” “No, I’m serious, Selene. I think it’s possible that Maggie just might have these remains destroyed. Possible enough that we need to take some precautions to keep it from happening.” Selene opened her eyes wider and said, “Oh, and what are we going to do?”\n“Well, tomorrow, when the truck with the remains leaves, we are going to follow it.” “What? I’m not going to do that.” “Selene, you have to. If I go by myself, no one will believe me. I need someone else along.” “Why don’t you take Jacob?” “No, I need someone who’s credible. Someone people will believe.” “Sara, you don’t have to follow the truck. Just go out to the museum the next day.” “And what if the remains aren’t there?” “They’ll be there. Where else would they be?” “I don’t know. But I just have the feeling that I should do this. Come on, Selene. Please come with me? If I’m wrong, then there’ll be no harm done.” Selene looked over and met Sara’s eyes, staring into them for a moment before nodding her head reluctantly in agreement. “Okay. How do you want to work it?” “Great! Why don’t you just pack a small bag tonight and put it in my car. When the truck pulls out tomorrow night, we’ll be five minutes behind it.” \n“What about Maggie?” Selene asked. “I’m sure she’ll leave as soon as she sees the remains loaded. We’ll have to play it by ear, but I don’t think we’ll have any problems. Will you talk to Thessa and have her stand in for us while we’re gone?” “Sure, but how long do you think that’ll be?” “Well, if you’re right, and this is all just some paranoia of mine, we’ll be back the next day.” “Uh huh,” said Selene, as she got up from her chair. “Well, I’d better go find Nick. It looks like I won’t be with him at all tomorrow night.” “Wait,” said Sara as she got up and put her arm around her assistant’s shoulders, giving them a friendly squeeze. “I really appreciate this,” she said. Selene half turned and shrugged. “Yeah, well, I know you’d do it for me. Good night.” “Good night.” \n\n[[Continue|Moving the Bones]]\n

Maggie was unloading Melissa from the car in her reserved parking space at the museum and thinking, Clar’s teeth, everything takes longer with a baby! It’s almost ten o’clock. Oh, well, maybe Casey will already be here to take Melissa off my hands.\n\nAs Maggie walked down the corridor of highly polished dark wood, with Melissa over her shoulder, she could see the bright rectangle of the frosted glass door with her name on it reflected in the floor. As she drew closer, she could hear voices from inside her office. Oh, no, she thought. I hope it’s not some benefactors who’ve come to complain about an offensive exhibit.\n\nWhen she opened the door, she was greeted by two familiar faces. Both Casey and Sara looked up at her from the two chairs that were situated in front of her desk. Casey quickly stood up and said, “Hi, Maggie. It’s really good to see you and Melissa again.” \n\nSara stood up more slowly and then said awkwardly, “Hello, Maggie.” Maggie’s expression went though several changes as she thought about how she should respond to Sara’s being here. Finally she said, “I’m glad you’re here, Sara.” As Sara blinked in surprise at the greeting, Maggie abruptly turned toward Casey, flashing a smile, and said, “I’m so glad you’re here, too, Casey. I’m sorry I’m late, but I’ve really had my hands full with Melissa this morning.” \n\nCasey reached over and, taking Melissa into her arms, replied, “Oh, don’t worry. I understand. I have to contend with these little ones all the time.” Casey cradled Melissa in her left arm and rubbed the baby’s stomach with her right, saying, “Hi, there, you little redhead. You look just like your mother.” Casey then looked back up and, noticing the awkwardness between Maggie and Sara, said, “Besides, it gave me a chance to meet your field boss, here. We’ve been having quite an interesting conversation.”\n\n“Oh, really?” replied Maggie. “That’s great. Maybe she can keep you company today while you take care of Melissa. And as a matter of fact, I have a couple of tickets to my lavalina game this evening. Maybe you’d both like to go?” Sara stared at Maggie, too shocked to say anything. Casey just smiled for a moment and then, going with the flow, said, “Sounds great. I can leave Melissa at the baby care center at the Chambers.” “Great! Then it’s settled,” said Maggie as she walked around her desk, opened a drawer and pulled out an envelope. “Here are the tickets. They’re really good seats on the fifteen-leap line. You two can go off and have some fun with Melissa, and then go right to the game. You should get there around five.” \nSara held up her hand and said, “Wait, Maggie, I need to talk to you first if I could? It’s very important.” “Sara, I know what it’s about, and believe me, it can wait until later. I’ve got so much to do, you wouldn’t believe it. I know you’ve been working really hard lately, so just take the day off and enjoy yourself.” Maggie then grabbed a notebook from her desk and headed for the door. “You two, I mean three run along, and I’ll see you after [[the game|Lavalina Game]].” With that she was out the door and going down the hall before either Sara or Casey could say a word.\n

Stuck in the Bunda\n(BBC)\n\nKerena sat under the thatched oval roof of the central gathering place rubbing a stone against her hunting weapon, her bare back resting against one of the poles; it felt cool compared to the heat of the bright day. It was almost noon, and she was stuck here while her hunters were off chasing bounders. She tried very hard not to let having to stay behind bother her, but she was frustrated all the same. She already missed the exhilaration of running full speed through the tall grasses in pursuit of prey. She was the leader of the bunda, and it was a sign of weakness on her part that she could not go. But on the other hand, it was a sign of wisdom that she did not try. She would never have been able to keep up, and that would really have made her seem weak to the others. So she sat and observed the activities of her bunda.\n\nLooking up from sharpening her aawk, Kerena gazed around the bunda. She was amazed at how much was going on. Some of the males were repairing the fence, replacing the upright posts that were rotted. Others stood on ladders made of branches, fixing the thatched roof on top of the birther’s hut. An older male was directing several boys as they stretched the bounder hides from yesterday’s hunt between two sticks mounted on the wall. Adolescent males helped out where they could. Some were apprenticed to adults to learn thatching, or building, or spear making. \n\nThar and his apprentice were near the gate, fashioning long spears and standing them up against the wall under the lookout platform. Some of the younger adolescent boys were doing simple chores such as threshing grain for the birthers or hauling wood in from the forest outside the bunda walls and stacking it by the fire pit. It took a lot of wood to keep the communal fire going at night.\n\nJust outside the open gate of the bunda, Teros was giving directions to a crew of men who were shaping the end of a large log into a point. He had another crew digging a channel that ran from a large wooden bowl near the fire pit over to and then underneath the wall that circled the bunda. That morning, Teros had told Kerena more about his idea to move the water, explaining how he meant to dig the channel to the bank of the river, and then use the water-lifting tool he had devised to bring water up out of the river into the channel. It would then flow from the river, under the wall of the bunda, through a cloth to filter out sediment, and then fill the wooden bowl. Kerena smiled; she would believe it when she saw it.\n\nStill smiling, Kerena turned her gaze to a group of small children who sat in a circle at Fanta’s feet, watching her movements as she told them a story with her hands. The younger children each had an older one seated next to them to explain in words what the elderly birther was saying with her signs. Today she was telling the story of the two moons that circled Ternary’s sky. With smooth motions of her hands, Fanta showed how Arok, the clar—the larger of the two moons—chased Jazelle, the Ternian hunter, through the sky. Once per cycle, Arok caught Jazelle and devoured her, and she disappeared. But then their planet, mother Ternary, gave birth to Jazelle, and she once again appeared behind Arok, chasing him for a while. But Arok was too fast, and before long he moved far out of Jazelle’s reach. Arok ran so fast that soon he appeared behind Jazelle and began to chase her and devour her again. \n\nFanta was good at her story telling, and she held the attention of many of the children—except perhaps a few of the older ones who had no younger child to instruct and had seen the story many times. Kerena’s smile grew even broader when she noticed two girls in the back row teasing one of the boys. They were sitting behind him, on either side, and were taking turns yanking on his hair. One would reach around to the side of the other to grab a handful and give it a tug. When the boy spun around to that side, the other girl would have her hands busy and be innocently looking somewhere else. It didn’t take long for the boy to catch on, though. Soon he spun around the opposite way to catch the real culprit. The girls giggled, and the boy, although scowling, was most likely pleased by the attention he was getting. Fanta had noticed the activity also, but wisely let it run its course.\n\nKerena looked around for the other birthers. Two were cooking lunch, one was washing clothes, and another was tending to the infant children. All of them seemed to be in various stages of pregnancy, their bellies swelling between wide hips. They seemed so short and round compared to the males and females. Kerena looked for Pena and finally found her with another Birther by the grain shed. They were each putting handfuls of grain into their mouths, chewing them, and then spitting into a clay urn. Water would be added to the urn, and it would be covered and left to ferment for a while. \n\nSuddenly a cheer went up from outside the walls of the bunda. Kerena tilted her head back to listen. That would be the game. Someone must have scored a goal. Sure enough, in a few minutes, Kerena saw a small group of boisterous teenage girls coming through the gate. As they passed a couple of young men who were moving more slowly under their heavy load of wood, several of the older girls reached out and slapped them on the rump as they went by. They were all headed in Kerena’s direction, no doubt in search of lunch. As they drew near, she could hear their banter. “That was a great move, Sar. I thought Cahn and Dahl had nearly killed themselves when they ran into each other. I don’t know how you can spin around so fast like that.”\n“Hi, Kerena. You should have seen us kick butt out there today!” “Oh yeah, Nels! Well, we’re going to beat you boys after lunch—just watch.” “Who are you calling a boy?” Sar challenged. \n“You, you digging boy,” taunted Dahl. “That’s it!” cried Sar, as she dove head-first at Dahl. The two girls fell to the ground and started to roll back and forth, each trying to get at the other’s throat. The other girls surrounded them, and one or two tried to get in and separate them. Kerena struggled to stand up as she called to the nearest birthers. \n\nNearby, Mere and Pena both dropped the bowls they were filling with lunch and came waddling over. By this time, the other girls had managed to pull Sar and Dahl apart, but it took several to hold them back, and they were still trying to get at one another. Quickly each birther went to one of the girls and placed her hands on either side of the child’s face. The two girls stopped their struggling immediately, and as the others let go of them, they fell into the embrace of the birther, who held them for just a moment. When they were released, each of the girls was calm and breathing normally. \n\nKerena spoke up then. “Hey, you two! Shake hands and say you’re sorry. I want to see you use that aggression during your games or on the hunt, not behind the walls of the bunda. Do you understand?” Sar and Dahl looked at each other, back at Kerena and nodded and then shook hands. Kerena then added, “Good! Now weren’t you all headed for lunch?”\n\nKerena sat back down against her pole and spoke with several of the young women as they passed by, a few of them stopping to talk about the game or to see how she was doing. They made her feel old. So full of energy and so few cares. Several would be joining the hunt next year. She was even thinking of sending a few along this year. She still might, depending on how well they had the larder stocked. It was a slow process to teach the young ones the tricks of stalking. And the risk from clar was ever present. The new ones thought all they had to do was run through the fields and swat at the bounders. Her thoughts carried her back to her first hunting days; she felt she could run all day long and chase down any prey on the plains back then...\nThe sun warmed her back as she heard the wind in her ears. She could hear and feel the swish of the grasses as her legs kicked below her. It was almost as if they were not connected, and her body was just floating along. She pushed, faster and faster, until she could feel the burning in her legs and chest. It hurt, but it felt good. And always they were behind her. The others could never keep up with her. Gem would come the closest, but even she could not keep up for long. From the time she was a little girl, Kerena dreamed of being the greatest hunter. She was sure that she would kill the most bounders. But when she joined the hunters, she soon learned that running faster than the others was not allowed, and that you’d better not run where you can’t see what’s ahead. \n\nKerena was still staring off into space, daydreaming of more carefree days, when a figure came up and knelt beside her. It was Pena, and she had brought some stew, steaming in a bowl. Bowing her head, she offered it to Kerena. “Thank you very much, Pena,” said Kerena, taking the bowl. Pena then placed her left hand on Kerena’s abdomen. Setting the bowl at her side, Kerena placed her left hand along the side of Pena’s downturned face and slowly caressed her cheek and ear. Lifting her head, Pena looked directly at Kerena with her round, deep-brown eyes. “I think you are right, Pena, my sprout is awake. I will need you soon. Will you be ready?” \nAt this, Pena smiled, then leaned across and pressed her lips against Kerena’s in a soft kiss. Kerena responded, holding Pena’s head with her hand. The kiss was long, gentle, and searching. As their lips parted, Pena leaned back on her haunches and smiled again. Kerena’s eyes were still closed, her head tilted back against the pole she was leaning on. Her face was the picture of contentment, as she smiled rapturously, lost in a haze of warmth. Birthers can be addicting, thought Kerena, as she reached out for Pena again. But the birther was already standing. As Kerena looked up, she bowed, then turned and walked back toward the fire pit. Kerena leaned her head back against the pole and smiled. This would be her fourth planting, and she was very much looking forward to it.\n\n[[Continue in the past|Clar Attack]] --OR-- [[The dig site in the future|Dig at night]]\n

“The mother is the most precious possession of the nation, so precious that society advances its highest well-being when it protects the functions of the mother.”\n\nEllen Key (1849-1926)\n\nPrologue\n\nMy name is Dawn. I write these words to tell my story, for I cannot speak. None of my sex can vocalize. And I find that I’m not very good at writing words either, because I have no sound of them in my head. I can only depend upon the words I hear from others such as my mother to guide my placement of these letter constructs. At least I can write. All those of my sex who came before me could not even do this. My mother says that soon there will be many more such as I, and then, I am sure, we will find our voice on this world. Then we will achieve our just place in society and start to heal the deep wounds of our long absence that cripple this planet. I only hope it is not too late.\n\n[[Maggie's story line|Lavalina Practice]]\n[[Sara's story line|The Dig]]\n[[Kerena's story line|The Hunt (BBC)]]\n\n[[Glossary|Glossary]]

Fulfilling the Promise\n(BBC)\n\nKerena slowly ran her hand up and down over her swollen, oblong stomach as she sat on a bench that Teros had made and watched the men put the last of the trees in place for the new wall. It had taken seven turns of Jazelle and Arok for them to bring enough trees from the forest across the lake to the place Kerena had chosen to begin the new bunda. \n\nKerena was as amazed as the rest of the bunda when Teros returned across the water riding on the logs that were lashed together. Some children had spotted them coming and their shouts brought the entire bunda to the water’s edge to watch them progress across the top of the water. It was very strange to watch as the men used tree branches that they pulled backward through the water to move the boat forward. Kerena felt great warmth in her stomach when she thought of Teros. Her bunda’s survival owed much to Teros ingenuity. She was giving her life so that the bunda could survive, but without Teros their fate would most certainly be like that of the Lakers. Her mood quickly shifted to sadness as she remembered the look on the Lakers faces as they watched how quickly Teros and the men were able to bring the logs across the water and assemble the walls. They knew that their bunda would still be here if they had thought of this idea.\n\nTeros had insisted that it made no sense to actually start building the walls until they had enough logs to close the walls. Instead they had concentrated the first of the logs and their efforts on a community building large enough for them all to sleep in. That building had saved them from one clar attack, and Jompar and Macha had saved them from another, at the cost of their lives. But the wall was now complete, and they could finally start on individual huts for the people. With everyone living so close together in the community hut, the Birthers were nearly worn out calming nerves. Kerena had insisted that they also build the birthing hut because she wanted to spare everyone in the bunda her coming ordeal.\n\nKerena felt a small hand on her left shoulder and smiled at the happy giggle she heard to her right when she looked over her left shoulder. “Come here, wild one,” she said, turning her head to the right to watch her small daughter dance around the bench and move to stand beside her right knee. “How are you today, Kell?” “I’m good,” replied the small child, as she placed first her hand and then her ear against Kerena’s protruding stomach and asked, “How is the little Birther doing?” Kerena ran her hand through Kell’s long, soft black hair and felt a great sadness come over her as she said, “The little Birther is doing very well, Kell. As a matter of fact, she’s going to want out very soon now.” “Great!” said Kell. “That means I can play with her soon!” Kerena fought back the tears beginning to well up in her eyes as she wondered how to explain things to her daughter. As she started to reply, she felt a hand grip her shoulder, and with its touch warmth spread from there down to her heart and stomach. Turning her head slightly, she saw Pena standing behind her, smiling. She reached up and placed her hand over Pena’s and squeezed. Feeling the strength enter her body, she turned to Kell and said, “You know, little one, after the Birther comes, you will not see me again.” “Why?” asked Kell. “Where will you go?”\n“I will put my life into the Birther, and she will live for me.” Kell looked puzzled for a minute, and then smiled and said, “Then, when I play with the little Birther, I will be playing with you.” Kerena couldn’t contain her laugh as these innocent words came from Kell’s mouth. With moist eyes Kerena smiled, pulled her daughter to her in a hug and said, “That’s right, little Kell. That’s right.” Suddenly she lifted her head from her daughter’s and let out a small groan. Pena stepped forward, concern on her face. Kell said, “Are you all right?” Kerena took her by the shoulders and said, “I’m okay, little one. Now listen. I want you to run and find Sar, and tell her to meet me at my hut right away. After that, you can go find your friends and play. Okay?”\n“Okay, I will,” yelled Kell, as her little legs carried her off toward the practice field. Slowly standing, Kerena leaned on Pena as they made their way toward the Birther’s hut.\n\n[[Continue|By the Lake]]

As they entered the locker room, another player asked, "Where are you going to keep your daughter, Maggie?" Maggie looked quizzically at the woman and said, "At my house, of course. Why?" "Oh, you have a child keeper then?" "No, I don't, but I guess we should look into the possibility," replied Maggie. Another of the women, standing in front of her locker, had peeled her jersey over her head and was standing with her arms still in the shirt in front. Her naked flat chest glistening with perspiration, and said, "Do you know what you're getting into, Maggie?"\n"Yeah, Maggie," said another. "I don't think you're gonna like having a little baby around the house. They're really disruptive. They break things, get dirt everywhere, and take up a lot of your time especially if you don't have a child keeper."\n\nStarting to get irritated, Maggie looked around the room at all the staring faces and said, "Look, I've already talked this over in great detail with Dale. We just think that it's healthier for our child to be at home, and to be cared for by us. He's agreed to help out with the baby, and he promised he'd do a lot of the other work." A throaty guffaw issued from across the room as Val barked, "Sure he's going to help out, Maggie. And I'm going to be the Speaker of the High Council some day!" Maggie's impatience to leave for the Birth Chambers was mixing with her aggravation over her teammates' single-minded attitude, and she could feel anger starting to twist her stomach into knots. Turning to her locker, she pulled it open, took a deep breath, and carefully placed her stick inside. Then, in a swift, catlike motion, she was across the room, grasping the front of Val's jersey in her fist. Yanking it up into Val's chin, she threatened through clenched teeth, "You'd better keep your comments about my husband and soon-to-be family to yourself, Val, or you're gonna end up on the ground for a lot longer than you were today."\n\nFor a moment, the big woman was taken aback by the speed of Maggie's move, but her face quickly twisted into a sneer. Grabbing Maggie by the shirt collar, she started shoving her back toward a bench, growling, "I'll do and say what I please, you prima donna." Then, with a lunge forward, Val tried to push Maggie backward over the bench. At first, Maggie resisted, pushing with all her might against her heavier opponent. But this was to no avail as Val bent her back, her long torso bending in a long arch over the back of the bench. With all her might she gave a final heave back at Val, and just as the woman increased her forward force, Maggie pulled back hard and, tucking her long legs up under her, hopped over the bench, dragging Val forward. As Val stumbled forward, Maggie took advantage of the big woman's mass, pulling her down hard so that her gut struck the back of the seat with enough force to knock the wind out of her, while her knee cracked the seat of the bench at the same time. Val let go of Maggie and collapsed to the floor, gasping for breath and holding her knee. Without a word to anyone, Maggie turned and stalked back to her locker and began undressing for her shower.\n\nA few minutes later, after showering quickly, Maggie dressed and hurried outside, climbing into her dark-green, two-door carriage. Of course, since she was in a hurry, it took the thing forever to get started. Finally engaging the transmission, Maggie headed off down the road toward [[Rivertown|Rivertown]] .\n

THE HUNT\n[[(BBC)|Glossary]]\n\nKerena stopped crawling through the long grass and held her hand behind her rump to signal the others to halt. The sun felt warm on her back as her nostrils flared to the gentle breeze, her hunting instincts so finely honed she could smell the bounders as they grazed up ahead. The sun hung midway to noon in the clear blue sky, its rays not yet hot enough to still the gentle breeze that rippled through the tall green grass. Slipping slowly through the grass on hands and knees the seven slender figures were moving in a triangle formation. Long, fine black hair fell across their bare, ruddy backs. Each wore a ragged black skirt held in place with a leather strap. At their sides, shoved through the strap, was a carved wooden stick about a half meter in length, thin at the handle end, the stick tapered up to a thick flat section where a sharp stone was inserted.\nAbout 50 meters ahead, a large herd of the four-legged bounders grazed. The beasts had thin, muscular legs jutting from thick bodies, their coats tan with horizontal slashes of white and black on either side. Slender tan necks supported small heads with pointed snouts. The creatures were unaware of the figures approaching from downwind, nor were they aware of the dozen other figures crouched in the grass, farther to the north.\n\nAs Kerena squatted, she could feel the stalks of grass brushing against her long, slender legs and the tiny beads of sweat beginning to form on her scalp. She smiled in anticipation, knowing that very soon they would be swept away by the rush of the wind through her hair, and she smiled in anticipation. With slight hand motions, Kerena signaled those behind her to begin spreading out as they resumed their advance, moving even more slowly now. Each lift and placement of a limb took seconds. Each body moved in unison with the others. After advancing several more meters, they began to spread out in a line. Again Kerena signaled the others to stop, and one by one, those on either side became motionless. As she reached down to slowly draw the wooden stick from her belt, the others did the same. Raising her arms straight out in front of her body, she flattened her left palm downward, fingers pointing directly at her prey; in her right she held her weapon. At her sides were six of her best hunters. There was no need to look at them—she knew they were ready. In one graceful motion, Kerena dropped her left hand as a signal, uncoiled her long legs, and sprinted toward the herd of bounders. The others leaped forward to follow, each one letting out a piercing yelp. \n\nKerena ran with fierce joy, her legs covering huge stretches of ground with each stride as they kicked forward in a long, fluid motion that brought her heels high in the air. She glanced to each side at her hunters as they matched her pace stride for stride, their bodies long and lean, their hair trailing behind narrow shoulders, their chest thrust out, breasts barely perceptible, as efficient lungs sent oxygen to pumping legs.\n\nHearing the cries of the hunters, the bounders froze in their tracks for just an instant. Then, letting out startled grunts, the herd turned with a singleness of purpose to flee in long, graceful leaps. Kerena had timed it perfectly. The animals were now heading directly toward the rest of her hunting party, crouched and concealed in the grass ahead, weapons ready, waiting for just the right moment.\nKerena flew through the grass in joyous exhilaration, every breath filling her with energy, the tall grass moving by in a blur as she gained on the animals. Suddenly the hunters up ahead burst from their hiding places, their wild shrieks filling the air. Dust billowed as the bounders in front came to a stop so quickly that those behind plowed into them, sending several of the animals tumbling to the ground. Everything seemed to be moving now in slow motion for Kerena as the herd tried to gather itself and turn to the side to escape. She was within a few steps of one of the frightened animals, close enough to see the fur on its haunches ripple as its muscles contracted and released, hopelessly straining for more speed. In full stride, she swung her axe-like weapon at its hind leg, neatly severing the long tendon that ran down to its heel. The animal collapsed on its hind quarters, and as its head came up and around, Kerena, her weapon grasped in both hands, brought her weapon high back across her left shoulder and swung smoothly downward, striking the animal in the neck and sliced through its windpipe. Then, taking but a split second to assess the situation around her, Kerena charged off to claim yet another quarry.\n\n\n[[Back to the future|Lavalina]] --OR-- [[Continue in the past|Bunda]]

The Morning After\n(BBC)\n\nKerena woke to the rough sound of Teros’s breathing. Turning her head slightly to the right, she could see him laying there, his long nose in the air, a peaceful look on his face. Closing her eyes again, she smiled at the thought of last night. I wonder if he awakened the sprout within me? Her smile quickly faded at this thought, though, for she could not remember if there were any birthers who were not pregnant. She tried to list them in her head; there were six. Fanta did not count—she was too old. Mere was carrying for sure, and so were Lessa and Ria. She could not remember if Leena or Matie were. She thought that maybe they were. Damn! How foolish! She may have gotten carried away with her privilege of being the bunda leader. Well, maybe she was wrong about Matie. She would find out today, just in case.\n\nCareful to not wake Teros, she sat up and rolled to her knees. As her weight fell on her left thigh, she winced in pain. Kneeling, she looked down to find a very large and dark bruise on the side. Then she remembered. A bounder had kicked her there yesterday. She must not have noticed last night, with all the excitement of the hunt and the mead in her head. As she rose to put on her waist wrap and straightened the leg, she grimaced. It was definitely painful, and she couldn’t put much weight on her leg. Kerena was angry now. This meant that she could not lead the hunt today. She could not run. Kerena loved to run more than anything—more than eating, or even sex. She was becoming upset now, and she clenched her fists and her teeth for a moment and then limped out of the hut.\n\nLetting the grass mat door swish closed behind her, Kerena looked up to see the morning sun’s rays just beginning to light the sky. The walls of the bunda stood out darkly against the soft blue-green light. The lookout at this corner was climbing down as his replacement waited below. Kerena lifted her long slender arms above her head, clasped her hands, and started to stretch, but quickly stopped when she felt the pain in her thigh again. Looking around the bunda, she saw little movement. Several figures were at the washtubs, and in the communal oval she could see Fanta and Pena arranging wood to start a fire. Pena! How could she have forgotten? There were seven birthers, not six! She had taken over leadership of the bunda from her mother on that day, just twelve years ago when Pena was born. She was just reaching maturity and was definitely not carrying a child! She would be ready. \n\nAs Kerena limped over to the fire pit, she watched the two birthers. Fanta had her back to Kerena and Pena was turned to the side, breaking sticks. Pena looked so much younger than Fanta. Her dark hair was just growing out from the short cut of the immature, and her body was smooth and rounded. Her breasts were large and full and stood out from her body. Her stomach was flat, and her large hip bones were pronounced beneath her wrap.\n\nAs Kerena got closer, Pena looked up and saw her. First she smiled, but then seeing Kerena’s limp, a look of concern came over her face. She reached over to Fanta and touched her on the arm. Fanta turned and watched Kerena limping toward them. Seeing the bunda leader’s condition, she turned back and motioned to Pena before walking over to Kerena. Pena left the firewood in a pile and headed off toward a nearby hut. \n\nFanta walked up to Kerena and put a hand on her arm. Kerena looked down into the wrinkled olive face and smiled. As Fanta looked back, gazing deep into her eyes, Kerena could feel the birther’s concern. Softly Fanta touched the bruise on Kerena’s leg and motioned for her to sit down. Kerena allowed Fanta to guide her to a sitting position and lay back willingly as Fanta gently pushed her shoulders to the ground. Kneeling, Fanta then moved her hands to the injured area and carefully began to massage the leg from the hip down to the bruise and then around its edges. She then worked from the edges of the bruise to the center. Kerena frequently let out a soft grunt from the pain but lay with her eyes closed, putting her full trust in Fanta.\n\nKerena did not notice as Pena walked up with some strips of cloth in her hand and knelt next to Fanta, who continued massaging for several minutes. She then had Pena hold the leg out straight, supporting it at the ankle and behind the knee. Pulling a small knife from a sheath at her side, she carefully made a small incision along the length of the leg, in the center of the bruise. She then motioned to Pena, who leaned over and spit several times on the cut as Fanta gently rubbed it in. Fanta then took the cloths Pena had brought and wrapped and tied the thigh. Both women then helped Kerena to her feet.\n\nTesting her leg, Kerena found that she could put her weight on it and there was very little pain when she moved it. Turning to Fanta, she took the birther’s hands in hers, smiled, and then bowed at the waist. Fanta nodded back, a smile on her face. Kerena then took Pena’s hands and again bowed at the waist. Pena curtsied slightly, and when Kerena let go of her hands, she stood with her head turned to the side, looking up into Kerena’s eyes. Slowly she lifted her right hand and brushed the back of it up across Kerena’s abdomen. Kerena smiled, nodded, and then turned and walked to the gate of the bunda, her limp just barely noticeable.\n\nGlancing up at the lookout to get the all clear, Kerena slipped the leather thong that held the gate closed, opened it, and walked outside. The sun, now just above the horizon, was causing the dew on the tips of the green and brown grasses to glisten with the colors of the rainbow. There was a coolness in the air, and Kerena breathed deeply as she thought about the day ahead. They had much food to lay in before the dry spell started, and it was already very late in the season. The hunters needed to go out again today, but she would not be able to lead them. Who should lead for me? she thought. She listed off the names of her best hunters in her head. Finally, she nodded, and as she turned and shut the gate behind her, she said aloud, “Marthe.”\n\n[[Continue in the past|Stuck in the Bunda]]\n

The Discovery\n(ABC)\n\n“I thought we’d never get down that fire escape,” said Casey, as she led Sara through the front door of the Birth Chambers and into the lobby. She stood facing Sara with her back to the empty counter. “That was the longest flight of stairs I can remember ever going down,” Sara said. “I still don’t know how we got your car out of that mess in the parking lot, either.” \n\nSara, looking over Casey’s shoulder, saw the door behind the counter open. Through the doorway stepped a very tall man with short red hair and a smile that wrinkled his cheeks so much it seemed to float in front of his face. “Whoo-whee, look who just came in from the riot zone. Am I glad to see you,” he said in a booming voice. Casey spun around and said, “Hello, Tom. So you heard about the riot at the game. We’re kind of glad ourselves—we just made it out alive. This is Sara. She’s a friend of Maggie’s.” \n\nTom stuck out his long arm and offered his hand to Sara. “Glad to meet you, Sara.” Sara stepped passed Casey and grabbed Tom’s hand, noticing how callused it was. “Glad to meet you too, Tom. And speaking of Maggie, can I use your phone here to leave her a message?” “Go right ahead.”\n\nSara figured it would be useless to try and get through at the stadium, so she called both Maggie’s house and the museum to leave messages. Dale hadn’t heard from her all day, and he didn’t even know that there had been a riot at the game. The guard who answered at the museum knew about the riot, but he hadn’t seen Maggie, either. Just to be certain, Sara called the local hospital, but Maggie hadn’t been admitted. Not yet, anyway. As she hung up the phone, she said to Casey, “I hope she was able to get out of the stadium. We don’t even know if she regained consciousness or not.” Casey tried to reassure Sara. “I’m sure she’s okay, Sara. They probably have excellent medical facilities for the players right there at the stadium. They’re not going to let anything happen to their star player. Maybe they’re just holding her there for observation.” “I hope so. Do you think I should try and get through to the stadium?” “Sure. It can’t hurt to try.”\n\nSara reached for the phone again, but before she could pick it up, the switchboard rang and Tom answered. “Hello? Well, Hello! I’m fine, but the big question is, how are you? Uh huh . . . yeah, that’s good. Yes. . . . Yes, they’re here. They’re standing in front of me right now.” Tom motioned for Sara to pick up the phone she had been using as he pushed a button on the switchboard. “Maggie?” “Sara, you’re all right! How’s Casey?” “We’re both fine, Maggie. How are you doing?” \n“Well, other than a slight concussion and a not-so-slight bump on the back of my head, I’m fine.” \nSara smiled at Tom and Casey and mouthed “She’s all right” before speaking back into the phone. “Where are you?” “I’m still at the stadium, in the medical wing. They’re going to let me go in about a half hour.” “Do you want us to bring Melissa home so you can go directly there?” \n“No. I want to come there and get her. Can one of you wait for me?” “We’ll both be here, Maggie. Are you sure you don’t want us to come pick you up?” “No. Just wait there. I’ll be there in about an hour.” “Okay. Drive carefully.” \n “Well?” said Casey. “She’s at the stadium. She’s okay, just a slight concussion, and she’s going to be here in about an hour.” “I’m so relieved to hear that,” said Casey, looking down at her watch. “Let’s go see how Melissa’s doing. She’s probably asleep. Things get pretty quiet around here at nine o’clock.”\n\nAs they stood at the window of the nursery, gazing in at the sleeping children, Casey said, “Would you like to have a look around while we’re waiting for Maggie?” “Sure. Why not,” replied Sara.\n\nCasey led Sara around the corridor that circled the outer edge of the building. “All of the floors are situated around a large cylinder,” said Casey. “You’ll see why when we get downstairs. The center of this floor is divided between the glassed-in nursery for the newborns and the playroom for the child care center. Along the outside walls are the lecture rooms for the training classes, like this one.” \n\nCasey opened one of the doors and led Sara into what reminded her of a classroom. Pillows were arranged as seats on the dark wood floor, and the walls were covered with cork. Pinned to the cork were large posters showing the anatomy of males and females. Sara walked up to one that had a full-color illustration showing the pubic mound of the male. The vertical lips were opened to expose the small, twin sperm spouts. The same poster showed how the end of the female’s trunk fit over the area. Casey said, “As you can see, we give instruction on everything from sex education for the young girls to the process of planting the embryo in the growth chambers and, finally, the birth of the child. Would you like to see the growth chambers?” “Yes, I would. Very much so,” replied Sara.” “OK, we’ll have to go downstairs, then. Follow me.”\n\nAs Casey led her down to the floor below, Sara could hear and feel the drum of machinery. She also noticed that it was getting warmer. “How many floors does this building have?” she asked Casey. “Five: two above ground and three below. The top floor is offices. This and the next floor have all of the growth chambers, and the bottom floor is mostly machinery.” “How much equipment does it take to keep the chambers operating?” asked Sara. “I don’t know. I don’t pay much attention to machinery. We can go down there later, if you like. I wouldn’t be able to tell you much, though.” “If we have time, I’d like to,” said Sara.\n\nCasey led Sara from the stairwell into a dimly lit hallway that curved off in both directions. The inside wall was painted a light green and segmented into four-foot-wide sections that ran from floor to ceiling. Each section had identical sets of gages, knobs, lights, and dials. “Each one of these sections is a growth tank,” said Casey. “We have eighty chambers on each of the two floors and forty across town in our satellite facility.” “That’s only two hundred babies at a time,” said Sara. “What do you do if they’re all full?” “Well, that’s what bothers me. We can send women over to Forestville, if they have room, but that’s over six hundred dashes away. It’s actually the reason that the administration pushes us to encourage sterile transfer. We always try to have empty chambers, but between maintenance and repair, and the rush from outside, we’re often down to only a couple of chambers available at any given time, and sometimes none. Come on. I’ll show you the planting room on this floor.”\n\nCasey turned to the right and led Sara around the curved wall. As they walked, Sara noticed the reflections of the lights and dials as they strobed across Casey’s face. About a quarter of the way around, they came to a door that replaced one of the sections. Casey opened it, and they stepped into a long, dark hallway with a faint light at the other end. As they moved toward the faintly lit door, Sara placed her left hand on the wall. She could barely feel it. It was the same temperature as her own body and seemed to throb slightly, at the same rate as the constant drumming she could hear in the background. \n\nCasey opened the door, and they stepped into a large, softly lit circular room. The first thing Sara noticed was the sound of waves and wind as she felt a slight warm breeze whisper across her face. The immediate feeling of relaxation she felt made her want to lie down on the thick grass-colored carpet and close her eyes. Looking around, her eyes followed a series of dark fabric shades that circled the room, extending from the floor up about two feet. They were a deep red-brown color, and they nearly matched the dark wood frames around what appeared to be windows. Centered above each window was a four-inch circular plate with a wooden T-handle in the middle. Above that, and on either side, were two wooden U-shaped handles with grips. The floor of the room was completely carpeted, and right in the middle of the room was a small bed with a chair next to it. Casey spoke in a hushed voice. “This is where each women comes and, after a short preparation, implants her embryo in a chamber.” \n\nWalking over to one of the shades, she whispered, “These round covers with the T-handles come off, and when she is ready, the woman inserts her trunk in the opening and plants her embryo in the chamber. Each chamber has an observation window that’s about a foot wide. Would you like to take a look in?” “Is that all right?” asked Sara. “Of course, we do it several times a day,” replied Casey. \n\nShe walked over to a wall switch and dimmed the lights in the room to near darkness. Then, walking past several shades, she reached over and lowered one to the floor. “Here’s one that was planted just two days ago. They grow so quickly at this stage.” As Sara came over and knelt on the grass-like carpet, Casey reached just above the window frame and turned a small knob. Slowly a soft pink light faintly illuminated the inside of the chamber. There, floating head down, was a perfectly formed little girl about three inches long. Her translucent white skin seemed to glow from within. An umbilical cord ran from her stomach to the wall of the chamber. Casey whispered, “It’s really amazing to watch that umbilical cord. About two hours after a planting, it snakes out of the embryo, always in an upward direction, until it contacts the wall of the chamber. I’ve heard that the most difficult part of developing the chamber was getting the chemical make-up of that wall right so that the cord would attach to it—accept it, if you will.” \n\nSara was speechless. She leaned back on her haunches and just stared at the tiny being. She had never seen anything so amazing in her life. In a rush of thoughts mixed with emotion she felt the momentous impact of the process of procreation and the awesome beauty and complexity of life rush through her mind. Never before in her life had had she ever even contemplated what her own role in this on-going cycle of life would be. All at once she felt exhilarated, awed and frightened. \n\nAfter a few minutes, Casey said softly, “We’d better get going if you still want to see anything else before Maggie gets here. She may be waiting for us already.” Sara shook herself out of her reverie and slowly stood up. “Yes,” replied Sara. “I want to see the whole building—except the offices. I don’t care about those.” “Even the basement with the equipment,” asked Casey. “I can’t really tell you anything about it.” “Absolutely,” replied Sara. “I have to see what makes those chambers function”\n\nOn their way to the basement, Sara asked Casey, “If Birthers really existed at one time; and I deeply believe now that they did, where did they go? They had to come from somewhere. Why aren’t any born?” “I don’t know. I’ve often wondered that myself,” replied Casey as she reached to open a large metal door. “The Chambers must have something to do with it.” \n\nCasey led Sara into a huge room. It was full of thick and thin pipes that snaked everywhere, whirring pumps, and large cylinders that gave off so much heat she had to give them wide birth as she walked around. The sound was deafening, and the heat and humidity was overpowering. Sara could feel sweat forming on her neck as she quickly walked around looking at the various pieces of equipment while Casey waited by the door. Just as she decided she had seen enough and was about to leave, she noticed a trail of footprints in the dust and oil on the floor. She followed the trail as it led back behind a large boiler and right up to a set of double doors. “What’s in here?” she called over to Casey. \n\nCasey walked over to join her and said, “I have no idea. I’ve never even been back here.”\nSara saw that there was a hasp and a padlock on the door, but upon closer inspection, she realized that the lock was not closed all the way. Removing the padlock and opening the hasp, she pulled one of the doors open, expecting Casey to say something. When she didn’t, Sara walked into the pitch-black room.\n\nFrom the sound of her footsteps, she could tell that the room was very large. It was also noticeably cooler and much dryer, compared to the room she had just left. Walking a little farther, she noticed a white string hanging in front of her and pulled on it. There was a series of loud clicks as, one by one, banks of powerful overhead lights switched on. Blinking in the brightness, Sara’s eyes began to take in the scene before her. The room was immense, and it was completely filled with tables. Gasping in shock, Sara reached out for a nearby table to steady herself. She couldn’t believe it. There before her, piled on each of the hundreds of tables, was row after row of bones. \n\n“I see you’ve discovered my secret place,” said a voice behind her. Spinning around, Sara saw Maggie standing next to Casey in the doorway. Maggie was smiling, and Casey had a look of astonishment on her face. Sara could tell that this was the first time she had seen this room. Maggie said to Sara, “Well, go ahead. Look around. Then tell me what you think.” Sara turned back to the room and gazed at all the skeletal remains. She walked over to the closest table and examined a skull; it had a knob in the back. “Kind of like the one I have on the back of my head right now,” said Maggie, who had walked over to stand next to Sara. Sara looked up at her and asked, “Are they all Birthers?” “Every one, as far as I can tell, said Maggie. “Oh, except for the one over there—that’s a woman. It’s very interesting, though.” \n\nSara turned back to the table and leaned over to examine a hip bone. Glancing up again, she scanned the room, not knowing what to look at next. She took a few steps toward another table, stopped, then turned back to stare at her supervisor and said, “But why, Maggie?” \nMaggie paused, obviously organizing her response, and finally responded, “Well, in my job as curator of the past, reporting to the High Council, I was supposed to destroy every shred of these remains.” Maggie paused, perhaps to let the full impact of her statement sink in for Sara and Casey. Then she continued, “Since I couldn’t bring myself to do that, I had to find a safe place to hide them.” Then Casey spoke up. “But how did you get them in here? I never even knew this was here, let alone see any of this brought in.” Maggie smiled. “No one knows about this room except me, Tom, and Joe. We always brought the remains in late at night, and they were supposed to make sure the room stayed locked and undisturbed. Looks like I’m going to have to discipline one of them for leaving that lock open.”\n\nWhile Maggie and Casey were talking, Sara continued to inspect the remains on the tables. Suddenly she stopped and, looking closely at a very small skeleton, exclaimed, “Maggie! Is this a baby Birther?” “Yes.” replied Maggie. “We found it cradled in the lap of the woman’s remains that are right next to it there. It was very strange.” As Sara turned to examine the small skull more closely, Maggie stepped forward. “Come on, Sara, don’t touch anything now. I’ll arrange for you to have a chance to come back here and spend more time. I’d like to get going.” Sara started to protest, but then, remembering who it was that had just spoken to her; she turned and slowly walked to the door.\n\nAs Maggie closed the hasp and secured the padlock, she said, “I would think I wouldn’t need to say this because you’re both intelligent women but please don’t either of you tell anyone about this room. I mean, don’t trust anyone. Besides the loss of my job, we are really talking about a threat to our lives, here.” “You’re not really serious about the death part, are you Maggie?” said Casey. Maggie turned to look directly into Casey’s eyes, and for a moment Sara saw the cold look she remembered from the dig site. “You’d better take this seriously, Casey,” Maggie replied. “Evidence like you just saw wasn’t kept out of the public view for the last century by people who just slap hands. The fanatics I know would burn this place to the ground in an instant, Chambers and all, just to keep this covered up.” She then turned abruptly and declared, “I’m going to get Melissa.”\n\n[[Continue|Sara Dream]]

What’s the Knob For?\n(ABC)\n\nSara sat at her kitchen table in her bathrobe, a cup of tea in one hand and the phone in the other. “You’re crazy, Sara. I’m sure of it now,” said Selene over the phone. “There is no way that little sprout inside of you is going to turn into a Birther. You are so infatuated with this Birther myth that you’re starting to turn your own life into a fantasy.” \n\nStaring out the window at the big tree behind her house, Sara realized that she was beginning to get a little tired of Selene. She had been spending more time with Jacob lately, and was beginning to appreciate his efficiency with words and the rare quality he had of not having to verbalize every thought. She hoped he would come back from the grocery store soon and save her from Selene’s soliloquy. The worst part was that she had to call early in the morning like this. \n\nIt was now exactly three weeks since they had to pull out of the dig site and exactly one week since she and Selene had cataloged the last find they were able to secure from there. Now, not only was she extremely frustrated at the situation, but her boredom was begging to make her irritable as neither of them had to spend the hours at work that they were used to and had more time on their hands. She replied to Selene, “I don’t care what you say, Selene, I’m going to see what happens. I’m not going to go to the Birth Chambers. If you were really my friend, you would support me in this, not fight with me.” “It’s exactly because I’m your friend that I’m trying to talk you out of this nonsense. All you are going to succeed in doing is killing both yourself and your potential baby.” Sara was saved from having to reply to that comment by the sound of a knock at the door. “Selene, someone’s at the door. I think Jacob must have forgotten his key. I’ll have to call you back later.” “Okay, Sara, but if you haven’t gone to the Chambers by tomorrow, I just might come over and drag you there.” “Fine Selene, call me tomorrow and we can talk about it. Good-bye.”\n\nSara walked to the door and opened it, expecting to see Jacob. Instead, Casey and Maggie stood waiting on her doorstep. Instinctively, Sara started to close the door on them but stopped and pulled it back open saying, “I’m not going. So don’t even bother coming in if you’re just here to talk me into it.” Maggie held out her hand, palm up and said, “Relax Sara. We understand that this is your decision. I can honestly say we’re not here to try to change your mind by anything we say.” “Good,” said Sara. “You can come in then.”\n\nNeither woman moved from the doorstep. Maggie spoke again, “We do want you to come down to the Chambers and see something, though. It’s down in the basement.” Sara flashed an angry scowl and said, “What is it?” “It would be better if we showed you.” “Oh, I see. And why couldn’t you just bring it here?” “It’s too precious to move,” said Maggie, “and it would have been too risky for us.” Casey took a step forward and pleaded, “Sara, please come with us. This isn’t a trick. We just want you to see something before you make up your mind once and for all to go through with this. It won’t be much longer before it’s too late for you to change your mind.” Sara lowered her head and stared at Casey through her eyelashes. Finally she said, “Well, you’ve got me intrigued. Come on in while I get changed.” \nAs Casey and Maggie moved into the front hall Jacob came walking up the stairs from the front walkway, both arms loaded with grocery bags, and said, “Hi Maggie and Casey, what brings you here so early in the morning?” Maggie replied, “Hello Jacob. Good to see you. We’ve got something to show Sara down at the Chambers.” Jacob quickly replied, “Well that’s great but she has to have breakfast with me before she’s going anywhere.” “I’m really hungry,” said Sara. “Do you two want to stay for breakfast?” “No,” Maggie replied. “We ate just before we came over. We’ll give you an hour and then come back for you.” “That’s okay,” said Sara. “Why don’t you two just go on over, and I’ll come by right after breakfast.” “OK,” said Maggie, “but you really will want to see this, so don’t change your mind.” “No, no, I’m really intrigued now,” said Sara. “I’ll be there.” “Good,” said Maggie, “Then we’ll see you there. Let’s go, Casey.”\n\nSara stood under the warm water of the shower, arms at her side and her eyes closed. She could smell the aromas coming from the kitchen, where Jacob was fixing breakfast, mixed with the floral scents of the soap in the shower. She could feel the muscles in her shoulders relax as the water ran down her face and back. Slowly she reached over, placing her hand on the small bump, just below her stomach and tried to sort out her feelings. The more she tried to think about her situation, the more her mind seemed to push the thoughts away leaving her numb. Each time she tried to probe her feelings, she came up against a stone wall; her chest felt as though a small rock was resting behind her breastbone. She knew she was being impulsive and needed to think and talk this through, but she didn’t want to. That’s why she liked being with Jacob so much. He was just there. He talked and listened, but he didn’t push. Slowly, reluctantly, she reached over and turned the water off and grabbed her towel from the hook. Boy am I famished, she thought as she bent to dry her long slender legs.\n\nJacob was standing at the stove as Sara entered the kitchen. He had a plate with toast in one hand and was just lifting a beautiful yellow egg onto it with the other. “That smells wonderful, said Sara. “My mouth has been watering since I got out of the shower.” “Then sit and eat,” he replied. Sara walked to the small table by the window and sat down and Jacob put the plate down in front of her. She quickly picked up the toast with the egg and took a bite, some of the soft yolk sticking to the side of her mouth as she did. Briefly she closed her eyes and chewed, savoring the flavor and the warmth in her mouth; pausing to lick the yolk from the crease on the side. As she opened her eyes Jacob was sitting down across from her with his plate of toast and eggs. He smiled and just looked into her eyes. Sara stared back, basking in the attention he paid her. Finally she broke the revere, “Jacob, do you think I’m doing the right thing?” Sitting back in his chair Jacob paused a moment and then said, “It really doesn’t matter what I think Sara. I do think it’s not about right or wrong but really a matter of why.” Sara furrowed her brow and said, “What do you mean?” “Well,” he said. “Keeping the sprout inside you to see if it turns into a Birther is certainly your decision. It’s your body, your life, your future. But do you know why you want to do this, and why do you think it’s a matter of right or wrong?” Sara put down her toast, leaned forward and said, “I think it’s pretty clear why I want to do this. I want to prove that Birthers exist. And the reason I think it might be wrong is that I do have a choice to do this our not. The problem is that I have a life growing inside me right now that depends on that choice; a life that doesn’t have a choice.” “I see,” replied Jacob. “So what if I’m wrong,” said Sara. “What if by my decision, my curiosity, my desire to solve a mystery; to be right, I cause a death?” “Two deaths,” said Jacob. “What do you mean?” said Sara. “Well, assuming this child, this Birther, grows to the size of a normal child, how is it going to get out of you?” Sara sat back in her chair, dropped her arms to her side, opened her mouth and just stared at Jacob. Why haven’t I realized that, she thought. \n\nAs Sara drove into the parking lot of the Chambers, her hand fell to her abdomen and a sense of foreboding suddenly came over her. She sat in the car for a few minutes, but it wouldn’t pass. Finally, she got out of the car and stood with the door open, staring at the building. A slight breeze blew by, and she shivered and crossed her arms over herself. Remembering that she had brought a sweater with her, she reached into the car and got it out. As she pulled the shaggy, olive green crew neck over her head, she thought about the tiny embryos floating in the warm growth chambers inside. Finally, she set her resolve, shut the car door, and walked into the building.\n\nSara followed Maggie down the dark stairway to the basement. Casey was right behind her. As the temperature and noise increased, she ran her hand along the inside wall. It seemed to pulse with the throbbing of the machinery, and she imagined the beating of two hundred tiny hearts as they floated just a few feet away. The sound increased as Maggie opened the door, and the smell of oil and grease triggered Sara’s memory of her last trip down here. \n\nMaggie led the way to the back room, and as she stood in front of the door and pulled a key from her pocket, she said, “You know, I’ve learned a lot about Birthers from this room, but I’ve never had the time to write much of it down. As I get older, though, I think that all this really needs to be documented before something happens to it.” Swinging the door open, she turned on the overhead lights, and once again Sara gazed at table after table of bones. And just like the last time, a feeling of awe swept over her.\n\nWalking up to the nearest table, Maggie pulled the bottom half of a Birther toward her. Sara and Casey moved up behind her. “You know, these creatures are really well designed for the role they must have played. Look at how thick all of these bones are. They’re perfect for supporting the extra load of the child. We also know that developing babies draw a lot of calcium from the growth chambers. This would tend to weaken the bones of anyone who was carrying them. And look at these hips. There’s lots of room for the baby to grow inside.” Then, turning to look directly into Sara’s eyes she added, “And to get out for that matter.”\n\nSara and Casey gazed at the table, spellbound by Maggie’s lecture. Sara reached out and lightly ran her fingers over the smooth bones as Maggie continued, “You know, we’ve actually recovered more Birther skeletons than any others. I think that only the Birthers were buried and they cremated everyone else.” \n\nMaggie then led Sara over to the table that held the child Birther. “That’s why I was so surprised to find this woman’s skeleton with the Birther child. I’ve spent a great deal of time looking at this one. We had to recover the remains in a hurry, so our first assumption was that the baby was in the woman’s lap or embrace when they were buried.” Maggie pulled the woman’s shoulders toward her and said, “But after I studied these more closely, I realized that there are too many clues that say otherwise. Take a look at this. Her lower ribs are malformed, or they were pushed out. And look here—the hips have small fracture lines in the back and they’re atrophied, as with osteoporosis. There was a lot of stress on this woman’s body, and I think it’s because she was carrying this little one inside of her when they both met some untimely end. And from the looks of how well formed that little one is, I would say that it was due soon.” \n\nSara looked down at the small skeleton that lay on its back on the table. She was speechless. It wasn’t that big, about a foot and a half long, but the head seemed large in proportion to its body. It looked so small and fragile laying there. Almost involuntarily, she placed her right hand on her abdomen. Casey came up behind her and put a hand on Sara’s shoulder as they both looked down at the table in silence. \n\nMaggie interrupted their reverie. Grabbing Sara’s hands, she looked directly into her eyes, saying, “You may be right about Birthers being born to women, Sara. But you need to see something before you decide to go through with this.” Dropping Sara’s hands, she reached past the two women and carefully picked up the entire baby skeleton. Turning it over in her left hand, she said, “Just look at how well preserved this is. Even the cartilage seems to be intact. It’s amazing.” Sara’ gaze traced the skeleton starting at its feet. As she scanned up she noticed that several of the bones of the spine had small teeth sticking out of them and the teeth seemed to get larger as they grew closer to the neck. There at the base of the skull she saw the mythical knob at the base of the skull. But there was something different about it. It seemed to have a slot in it. Maggie then grasped the top of the skull with her right hand, saying, “Now watch this. Let’s say that this little one is ready to come out into the world. Let’s also say that its mom is a woman, like the three of us—a woman who doesn’t exactly have any convenient openings large enough to get out through. Well, this little person is going to start pushing its head against whatever is in its way.” Maggie then pushed down on the skull. Casey gasped, putting her hands to her mouth and looking directly at Sara, a look of horror on her face. Out of the slot in the knob had popped what looked like a razor-sharp clar’s tooth, about an inch long. \n\nSara stared down at the tooth and began to breathe in small, short gasps. The blood was pounding in her ears, and she could barely hear Maggie say, “Sara, if you wait much longer to plant that sprout inside of you, it’s going to be too late, and you are going to be nurturing something that will rip you apart to get out.” Lifting her eyes to meet Maggie’s, a feeling of helplessness and fear gripping her stomach. Casey stepped up from behind and, putting her hand on Sara’s shoulder again, said, “Sara, let’s go up to the planting room, right now.”\n\nSara paused for a moment, still staring at the cutting saw on the baby’s back, then suddenly spun around, knocking Casey’s arm aside and screamed, “No!” as she ran from the room.\n\n[[Continue|Run]]\n

Next Day at the Dig\n(ABC)\n\nThe morning sun produced a sheen on the tan canvas of the map tent awning. Having risen several hours ago, the heat of the day was beginning to build. Sara and Maggie stood under the awning, looking out over the dig sites. Inside, Selene was helping Nick with mapping out the details of the latest sites to the north. The tent was backed up to the base of a rock outcropping comprised of striations of yellow, white, and tan that sloped from the hills behind it. Next to the map tent, also backed up to the rocks, was a much larger mess tent. Fanning out from the tents were the dig sites. Backs and heads stuck up out of shallow pits in the ground as workers on their knees dug, scraped, and brushed among the many strings that marked the surveying grids. \n\nMaggie was dressed in the regulation tan pants and shirt with pockets. Her short-cropped hair was covered by a tight cap with a small bill. Sara had on forest green shorts and a tan T-shirt with a single pocket. Her hair, slightly tousled, hung down over her ears. Sara had just finished pointing out N47 to Maggie, who asserted, “I don’t want to attract attention to the site, so let’s make a sweep of the whole place.” “Okay,” said Sara, “Let’s start out to the west. I think you’ll want to see W17. We’ve found something there that looks like a simple mechanism of some sort. A couple of the men say it’s for irrigation.” “Fine, let’s go.” With that, Maggie strode off quickly, her loose clothes brightly lit by the sun, contrasting with her dark skin. Sara ran to catch up and then walked almost at double time to keep up with Maggie’s long strides.\n\nAs they made their way along the land bridges that lay between the twine grids of the sites, Maggie stopped frequently to talk to the workers. She would watch for a while, ask questions, listen attentively, ask some more, and spend a lot of time examining the artifacts that lay in open collection boxes beside each site. Each time they stopped, Sara grew more frustrated. What is Maggie doing? she wondered. I understand her not wanting to rush right to the spot, but this is getting ridiculous. I can’t believe she isn’t dying to see the Birther? This find is absolutely huge, and she’s acting as if we’ve just got another piece of pottery over there. \n\nAs the morning wore on, Sara became more and more impatient. She kept glancing over toward the site where Jacob was hard at work. Once in a while she could see his head as he stood up to stretch or put something in the box. Soon Sara’s impatience was starting to become obvious. They were still at the west sites when Sara, wiping sweat from the side of her face with her hand, said, “Maggie, I really think we should get over to the north sites. It’s almost noon.” Maggie, who had been looking at some shards of pottery inside a pit that was not being worked today, stood up and faced Sara. “I’m waiting until noon anyway, Sara. I want Jacob to be on his break when we go over.” “That won’t do any good, Maggie,” replied Sara. “I know Jacob. He is so proud of that find that as soon as he sees us there, he’ll come running over and make a huge commotion.” “Okay, we’ll pick things up then. Does Jacob know who I am?” “Of course he does,” replied Sara. “Everyone here knows that you’re the one who decides which of the artifacts uncovered here will find its way onto display. Each of them wants their work to be out there for all to see.” “And do they know how long that can take?” “Yes, they’re well aware that it could require years of work in the basement and back rooms of the museum to get an item ready for display.” “Well, that’s good. And I suppose you think that it’s only a matter of years before we have the Birther on display also?” Sara gave Maggie a quizzical look. She knew that this was a very touchy area, but she didn’t understand Maggie’s reluctance to bring this important discovery to light. “Well, I would think that after we spend a little time verifying that it’s genuine, we will want to make an announcement. From what you’ve said, I gather that there are some powers that would want to keep this covered up, but once it’s out, they won’t be able to suppress it. We can call a press conference. We’ll launch an explosion of scientific study and public debate, and they won’t be able to stop it. Once and for all, we can dispel the myths. Once we announce this, we’ll have to put it on display.”\n\nAs Sara was talking, she noticed a strange progression of expressions on Maggie’s face. For a moment, there was a look of anger as Maggie’s lips tightened into a straight line, her eyes narrowing. That look quickly faded and softened into one of sadness. Finally, as Sara concluded her speech, Maggie was smiling and shaking her head. In a condescending manner, she put her arm around Sara and said, “Sara, your enthusiasm is why I hired you for this job, but remember, I know a lot more about the seriousness of the situation than you do, and you must follow my lead on this. Please trust me.” Sara turned her head to look up at Maggie. She was being treated like a child, and she didn’t like it. Maggie was acting like a controlling mother, and Sara was not used to this. Reluctantly she nodded her head as she dropped her eyes back toward the ground, her stomach starting to knot. “Good,” said Maggie. “Now this is what I want to do. We’ve got to hurry Jacob. I want to move the remains to the museum tonight. I think that you and I should help him.” \nAt this statement, Sara threw off Maggie’s arm and turned to face her, arms thrust back at her sides and head stretched forward defiantly. “We can’t hurry this, Maggie!” Sara cried. “We need to be as careful as we can with that skeleton. You haven’t even seen how far we are. How can you so sure that we’ll be ready to move tonight?” “Calm down, Sara,” replied Maggie. “You told me how much progress Jacob had made. It seems reasonable that with three people working, we should be able to finish up today.” “Maggie, the last thing we want to do is hurry Jacob or get too many people working in that pit! This find is enormously important, and we can’t afford to damage anything in our haste. I estimate that it will take another three days before we can try to move the bones. We haven’t even decided if we want to try and move the skeleton as a whole or take it apart. Personally, I think we need to spend some time studying it in place.” Maggie’s face grew stern again as she paused and seemed to be collecting her thoughts. She started to speak, stopped, then heaved a sigh and said, “Let’s just go look at the site, Sara. You’re right—I don’t really know how far along Jacob is, but for that matter, you don’t know how much progress he’s made today either. Let’s have some lunch and then we’ll go see.” Sara dropped her arms to her sides and nodded. “Okay,” she agreed reluctantly. With that, the two women walked over to the mess tent without another word.\n\nMaggie and Sara were sitting side by side at a table in the back of the mess tent, facing the entrance. The tent was a hubbub of banging plates, loud voices, and constant activity. Maggie had taken off her hat and was concentrating on a huge plate of food. Sara alternated between putting food in her mouth and turning to talk to Maggie, her hair swinging from side to side as she did. She was just making another point to Maggie, stabbing her fork in the air for emphasis, when Selene and Nick walked up, plates and cups in hand. “Mind if we join you?” asked Selene. Their arrival met with a look of slight annoyance from Sara, but Maggie smiled and very quickly said, “No, please sit down.” \nNick set his plate and cup on the table across from Maggie and settled himself. “Well, what do you think of our progress since the last time you were here, Maggie?” “I’m very impressed, Nick. The volume of artifacts is growing exponentially now. I hope we have room in the basement for all of this stuff.” Nick nodded and asked, “And have you been over to the north sites yet?” Before Maggie could answer, Sara jumped in. “No, we haven’t Nick. I wanted to locate them for Maggie on the maps first, but they weren’t up to date yet.” Nick, who was looking at Maggie, smiled first, then looked over at Sara. “Well, they’re up to date now. I finished them while you two were out this morning.” As Nick spoke, Selene kept looking at Sara, her expression a mix of irritation and puzzlement. “Sara, you really need to be more patient with people. The map making takes time. Nick and I were up very early this morning taking measurements at the new sites. And it was slow going, too; especially around N47, because Jacob, who was up even earlier than we were, was reluctant to move out of the way for us to take the measurements there. And even then, he insisted on covering up what he was digging.” As Selene spoke, Sara was looking in her general direction, but wasn’t really paying attention to what she was saying. Looking past Selene’s shoulder, Sara said, “Yes, well . . . speaking of Jacob, there he is now. Just look at him, Maggie. He’s the last one into the mess, and he isn’t even going to sit down and eat. I can’t believe how excited he is about this find. He’s a hard worker, but this is amazing.”\n\nJacob, his cap in his back pocket and his shirt stained with sweat, had just cleared the food line and was walking back toward the entrance to the tent. Under his left arm he held a large loaf of bread, while with his right he shoved a piece he had torn off into his mouth. Stopping at the water jug near the entrance to the tent, he filled his canteen, drank several deep draughts, and then refilled it. Tucking the canteen under his arm, next to the loaf of bread, he pulled his cap from his back pocket, placed it on his head, then lifted the cloth over the door and headed back out into the midday sun.\n\nAs soon as Jacob had left the tent, Sara rose and said, “This is probably a good time to head out there, Maggie. He won’t be deep into something.” “I’m not finished, Sara. And besides, there will be too many people milling around after lunch. I don’t want to just head out there. It will attract more attention. Do me a favor and get me some water. We’ll go to the map tent first to see Nick’s fine work, and then head out there.” Exasperated, Sara grabbed Maggie’s canteen and strode toward the water jug, glad she could turn her back so Maggie couldn’t see the look of disgust and anger on her narrow face. \n\nJacob was on his hands and knees in the center of the rectangular pit when Sara and Maggie arrived. The pit was actually a series of rectangles, each one deeper than the previous one, culminating in the deepest central one, which Jacob was in. The sun was intense, and Jacob’s entire shirt was wet with perspiration. He was so absorbed in his work he wasn’t aware that Sara and Maggie had climbed down two tiers and were standing very close to him. Finally Sara said, “Jacob, we’ll never be able to see what you’re working on unless you move aside.” As Jacob looked up and saw Sara, he straightened up on his knees. “Sara, you’re finally here! I kept expecting you this morning. You should see how much I’ve uncovered. Look, almost all of the hips and legs. I stayed away from the feet because those may be fragile. I’ve also gotten halfway up the rib cage. Birthers have big hips and rib cages, Sara, you should see—” Sara had to interrupt him in midsentence, “Jacob! I want you to meet Maggie. She’s in charge of this entire project. We all work for her.” Jacob turned to look at Maggie and, struck dumb by her presence, leaned back on his haunches and just sat there blinking his eyes. Finally Maggie said, “Hello, Jacob. I’ve heard a lot about you and your dedication to this find. Would you like to show me what you’ve got here?” Jacob nodded his head, slowly recovering from his sudden shyness. “Well, I’m working to uncover this Birther, here,” he said. “And what makes you think it’s a Birther, Jacob,” said Maggie. “Well, I just don’t think it can be anything else. This skeleton just isn’t like any ordinary person’s,” said Jacob, pointing to where he had been working. “These thigh bones are very short and thick, and the hips are very wide, much wider than any woman’s I know. And the rib cage is very tall.” “I see,” said Maggie, nodding her head slightly. After a short pause, during which Sara just watched, Maggie continued. “Jacob, I have been studying the past for a very long time, and I can say from my experience that we really don’t know if this is a Birther or just a person from very long ago. You see, Ternians have changed—evolved a lot over the centuries, and this could just be one of our very early ancestral lines that died off because they were unsuccessful.” “Oh,” said Jacob, not sounding very convinced. Maggie resumed talking, but she turned and looked at Sara when she spoke. “Now, in order for us to properly study this skeleton, we’ve got to move it back to the museum.” Sara opened her mouth to speak, but Maggie actually took a step toward her, silencing Sara with the menacing look on her face, and continued to speak. “And because I would like to do that as soon as possible, I would like to get you more help here, Jacob.” “I don’t need more help, Maggie,” said Jacob. “And besides we might break or lose something if we hurry.” Maggie turned from Sara back to Jacob. “I’m in charge here, Jacob. And if I decide it’s okay to do this, then it is. Do you want to help, or should I take you off the job completely?” At this, Jacob stood up hurriedly, panic gripping his face, looking from Maggie to Sara and then back again. “No! I want to keep working on this. Please don’t take me off this site. I’ll help whoever you send here.” “Good,” said Maggie, “Now, Sara and I are going to go back to the tent to plan this out. I want to have these remains in the museum by tomorrow night. Let’s go, Sara. You can get back to work, Jacob.”\n\nDuring the entire short exchange, Sara just stood dumbfounded, staring at Maggie. She had worked for Maggie for more than two years now, and she had never seen her be so authoritarian. And she knew that Maggie had good archaeological credentials. She had to know the consequences of hurrying like this. Something was definitely going on here, and Sara was getting more confused and disturbed by the minute. “Are you coming, Sara?” asked Maggie. \nTurning, Sara could see that Maggie had already walked several paces and was waiting impatiently for her to catch up. At that moment, Sara made the decision not to resist Maggie’s intentions anymore. She obviously wasn’t going to change Maggie’s mind, and she might end up getting herself removed from her duties. No, this was too important for that to happen. Sara had to keep track of this find, and it would do no good if she was out on the street. She turned and walked toward Maggie. “I’m coming Maggie, and I know just the people to help Jacob out here.”\n\n[[Follow Maggie|The Council]] --OR--\n[[Follow Sara|Sara & Jacob]]\n

Flight to Jacob\n(ABC)\n\nSara burst through the door of the Chambers and ran to her car, fumbling for the keys as she stood by the door. Her mind was in such turmoil she couldn’t think. A feeling of dread closed in on her from all sides, and she felt as though she was going to be crushed. Finally she found the right key and got in the car. \n\nLocating the spot for the key, she started the car, then crossed her arms over the steering wheel and hid her face in them. Her mind was a blank. What was she doing? She heard a door open and, looking in her mirror, saw Maggie striding toward the car. Quickly she engaged the transmission and drove out to the street. Without looking back, she made a right turn and just started driving, with no thought of where she was going. Her head hurt and her chest was so tight she could only breathe in short gasps. Her eyes were watering, but she wasn’t crying.\n\nComing to a corner, she stopped and just stared straight ahead until she heard a horn honking loudly behind her. Glancing at the rearview mirror, she saw a woman leaning out of her car, shaking her fist and yelling. Sara pulled the car through the intersection and over to the side of the street. Turning off the engine, she leaned her head against the steering wheel and sobbed.\nAfter a few minutes, she lifted her head from the steering wheel, wiped her eyes, and leaned her head against the side window. Staring at the legs of people as they walked by the car, she could hear the sounds of midday traffic and horns and squeaking truck brakes in the background. She was vaguely aware of the smell of grilled bounder mixed with the scent of fresh flowers. Lifting her eyes to look across the street, she could see two men walking in her direction, each carrying a bag over one shoulder, engrossed in animated conversation. As they got closer, she noticed a group of three women in bulky jackets scurrying along the street behind them. Realizing what was about to happen, she yelled, “Watch out!” But the men couldn’t hear her through the closed window of her car. Helpless, she watched as two of the women pulled small clubs from their jackets and swung them almost simultaneously at the men’s heads, then ran off down the street. The third woman stopped, roughly pulled the bags from the two crumpled bodies, and ran off in the direction of her cohorts.\n\nSara quickly got out of her car and rushed over to the prone bodies. One of the men’s head was bleeding profusely, and a large puddle had formed on the sidewalk. Pulling her sweater over her head, she knelt next to the man, lifted his head, and held the rough cloth against it, trying to stop the bleeding. Looking around at the passers-by, she saw that no one was even looking at them. She begged several women to call for medical help, but each continued walking as if they hadn’t heard her. Finally, she wound her sweater around the man’s head and eased it gently back to the sidewalk, then ran across the street to a public phone to call the Security Council. \n\n“Thank you very much for your help M. Tompte,” said the voice on the other end of the line. “We’ll take care of it from here. We’ll contact you if we need anything else. Thank you.” Sara hung the receiver back on the hook and then leaned her head against the cold metal of the phone. She felt so drained she didn’t know what to do next. Finally, pulling another coin from her pants, she dialed her own number, whispering, “Please answer, Jacob.” After several rings she heard his voice say, “Hello?”\n\nSara could feel the coolness of the stone against her legs and back as she sat hunched on one of the semicircular benches in the city commons. She was staring at the oval fountain in the center, watching the water jets shoot into the sky. From her vantage point, they seemed to go straight up into the puffy white clouds that floated by and then fall like rain into the surrounding pool. The continuous sound of the water splashing washed over her, filling her mind and forcing all thoughts from her head. Looking across the commons, she saw Jacob coming toward her, but she was so tired and numb she couldn’t even get up. \n\nWhen he finally reached her side and put his hand on her shoulder, she felt all of her emotions come rushing back. She stood up and, with tears in her eyes, embraced him, holding him so tightly she found herself gritting her teeth. After a while, she let go and just stood there, hanging her head. Jacob led her by the hand to a bench on the outer edge of the commons, away from the fountain, where they sat staring back at it as Jacob waited for her to speak. Finally she said, “I’m going to die.” “Why?” he asked. “Because, I found the answer to your question at breakfast; the answer to the question that I didn’t want to ask, and now I know the answer. You see, you were right Jacob, there’s only one way for this Birther child inside of me to get out; it has to kill me to do it.” Jacob waited patiently and soon Sara continued to explain what she had just seen in the basement of the Chambers; the small skeleton with the razor sharp tooth and saw-back spine that could have no other purpose. \n\nWhen she was finished she leaned against his chest and he wrapped his arms around her and started a gentle rocking motions. Shortly he said, “I don’t want you to die, Sara.” She knew that what he meant was that he didn’t want to lose her, and for the first time she realized how focused she had been on her own desires. She leaned back to look into his eyes and the look of sadness on his face brought tears to her eyes, and she leaned over and hugged him to her. She held him until a sudden gust of wind brought a spray from the fountain that sprinkled across their faces. As she pulled away from him, she saw that his face now had a look of hope on it, and then he stunned her with his next question. “How do you know that the skeleton Maggie showed you was real?” “What?” she said. “How do you know that the skeleton Maggie showed you was real?” he repeated. “I know what you said, Jacob, I’m just trying to comprehend the implications of it. It never occurred to me, but we know that Maggie must have all the resources of the government at her disposal. Do you think they would have gone to the trouble of fabricating it just to scare me out of having a Birther?” “I think that they consider you a very dangerous person right now, and if they wanted to, it probably wouldn’t be that hard.” She thought for a moment, then nodded and said, “I suppose the room full of Birthers is real enough. But you’re right; one little skeleton—and just a few changes to one little skeleton for that matter—wouldn’t be that hard.” Smiling, she hugged him again and said, “You’re amazing, Jacob. I thought it was the end of the world thirty minutes ago, and now I’m happy and thankful to be alive. I’m also hungry. Where’s that delicious smell of grilled bounder coming from?” Jacob smiled and grabbed her by the hand, and they walked off across the commons toward the open fire pit and the vendor stands.\n\n[[Continue|Pregnancy]]

Clar in the Bunda\n(BBC)\n\nThe sun was now close to setting on the horizon, and the six men Kerena had sent to almost certain death were silhouetted against the deep-red disk. They stood in a V-formation with their spears pointed toward the oncoming clar. The last of the hunters had just passed them, and everything was so still that even from up on the wall Kerena could hear the sound of their legs as they swished through the grass. She could also hear the grunts of the clar as they advanced, now just twenty leaps or so from the men. Suddenly Jompar yelled and charged to meet the lead clar head on, halting the other clar in their tracks. As Kerena watched from the wall, each of the men engaged an animal. \n\nDirectly in front of Jompar, the lead animal reared up on its hind legs and let out a fearsome bellow that shook the walls. The beast towered over Jompar, who wisely backed away. Raeen, one of the other men who had been sent into the fray, had begun attacking a clar from the side and had succeeded in stabbing it twice with his spear. But clar hides were thick and tough, and Raeen’s blows did not have much effect. The enraged beast had just turned and lashed out with its paw, knocking the spear away and seizing Raeen in its mouth, its jaws clamped down on his left hip. Even as the clar swung him from side to side in rage, Raeen, who had managed to draw his short digging knife, frantically stabbed the animal in the back.\n\nKerena looked back toward Jompar in time to see him drive his spear into the mouth of the clar that had charged him. The beast reared up again, the point of the spear sticking out the back of its neck and Jompar holding onto the other end, his legs kicking wildly in midair. When the clar tried to swat Jompar with its paws, he swung his body in toward the animal’s chest, dragging its head and body forward and down. As Jompar rolled free, the clar fell forward onto the spear, driving it further through its throat. Jompar quickly pulled his knife, jumped on the beast’s back, and stabbed wildly until the huge creature collapsed to the ground. Kerena instinctively let out a cry of the kill for Jompar, but her attention was quickly diverted. Three of the other men were already dead, and the clar that had killed them were now headed directly for the bunda wall, aimed at Kerena and Teros. Taking one last look at the tableau in the field, Kerena had just enough time to see that Raeen was now dead, too, although the clar he had stabbed was moving slowly. The remaining man was managing to keep a smaller clar at bay and was now being joined by Jompar.\n\nThe clar, snarling and snapping, were now attempting to climb the wall directly in front of Teros and Kerena. As she looked down on the huge creatures from above, Kerena could see nothing but large snouts filled with bared teeth and massive paws, tipped with razor-sharp claws. Teros had called for help, and Laroon and he stabbed down at the animals as Kerena chopped at their paws whenever they managed to grip the top of the wall. It was close quarters on the narrow platform, no room for anyone else to join them. They were managing to keep the clar at bay because all the animals tried to attack in the same area and got in each other’s way. After a few minutes, the largest one pulled back, stalked along the direction of the wall for a moment or two, then charged at the gate.\nKerena looked on in horror as the huge beast started to climb the gate. There were no platforms on the gate itself, so all the men below could do was try to use their spears to keep the animal from coming over. But this looked to be of no avail, as the clar reached the top of the wall and threw itself on the men below, sending them scattering in all directions. The beast landed on the ground and then took off running toward the center of the bunda, the men in pursuit. They would try and surround it to slow it down, but it had the scent of the birthers. \n\nKerena was now frantically dividing her attention between following the progress of the clar inside the bunda and keeping the ones in front of her from getting their claws over the edge of the wall. She was watching the clar on the inside advance toward the communal shelter when she felt a hot breath on her arm. Turning, she looked directly into the gaping mouth of a clar that had managed to pull its snout even with the top of the wall. She raised her club to strike at it, but suddenly the world was spinning before her eyes, and she slammed to the ground, landing on her side beneath the platform, the breath knocked from her body. Laying there gasping for air, she looked up just in time to see Laroon jump from the platform as the clar came completely over the wall onto the narrow ledge and was now balancing precariously above her. Things now seemed to happen in slow motion. As Teros stabbed at the beast with his spear, it began to fall directly toward Kerena. With all the speed she could muster, she rolled to the side as the creature tumbled to the ground, yowling in fear and pain. As Kerena looked up, she saw that Laroon had immediately moved in to confront the clar, along with two other men and several of the females. Most of the others had gone off to help protect the Birthers, and they could do little to stop the clar as it ran off. \n\nTeros was still above her, trying to keep the other beast out. Kerena looked up to see how he was doing. He had his spear held at his side and was looking over the wall. “What’s going on?” Kerena yelled. Teros shouted back, “Jompar and Lesa have drawn the clar off. They both stabbed him from behind when he was fighting me. He’s really mad, but I think they are getting the best of him.” Kerena nodded and then shouted, “Get someone else up there for you. There’s two of them in here and we need to go help out at the Birther’s hut. Come on!” Not waiting for him to get down, Kerena set off toward the sound of mayhem near the center of the bunda. Teros followed as fast as his big frame would allow.\n\nKerena rushed toward the birthers’ hut on the other side of the community shelter, her hunting club in her hand. She could hear the yells and screams of her people mixed with the growls of the clar. Running through the center of the shelter, she leaped over the fire pit and up the gentle slope on the other side. As she crested the slope of the pit, the scene that unfolded before her was so chaotic she could hardly believe her eyes. The birthers’ hut was directly ahead, the door facing her direction. There were about six spears sticking out of the doorway, and in the shadows she could barely make out the men behind them. This defense had obviously been somewhat successful because both clar were now on the right side of the hut. One was up on its hind legs, pushing on the wall of the hut with all its might, while the other kept the people on the outside at at bay.\n\nAs Kerena drew near, she could see the faces of some of the men inside the hut. They were filled with fear and confusion. As Kerena watched in horror, the side of the hut the clar was pushing on started to cave in. Still running forward, Kerena yelled to the men inside to get the birthers out. Rushing to the door, she pulled the first man out and then the others, positioning them to the right of the doorway. Straining to see into the darkness inside, she motioned to the Birthers, who were all cowering against the far wall to her left, several with children in their arms. “Come on!” she shouted. “We have to get out of here now!” Kerena then stepped back out into the open, her back to the men, and motioned to the Birthers. As they slowly filed through the door, Kerena directed them around the left side of the hut, hopefully out of sight of the clar.\n\nSeveral birthers were still inside the hut when the right wall fell in with a crash of splintering wood, the clar on top of it. The animal had managed to get half of its body inside the hut and had lunged forward, grabbing one of the Birthers by the leg. At the same instant, the roof on that side collapsed on the beast’s hind quarters. The birther it now had clamped in its jaws was unable to scream, but instantly everyone in the bunda could feel her pain. The birthers who were still inside the hut now panicked and started to rush through the door, straight out into the yard. The other clar caught their scent and maneuvered around to attack the men who standing ready on the side of the door. Kerena was frantically pushing the rest of the birthers out of her way as she rushed inside the collapsed hut. There, in the shafts of light from the doorway and the fragmented roof, she could see the body of the Birther pinned under the paws of the clar as its huge jaws tore away chunks of her flesh. Standing rooted for a moment in shock and revulsion, Kerena tilted her head back and wailed, feeling the sadness from the soles of her feet to the tips of her fingers. Soon the entire bunda was wailing as they all felt the death of the birther. Kerena gathered herself and let out a yell for the kill and rushed at the clar, her hunting club raised high above her head. In a frenzy of adrenaline-heightened rage, she swung her stone-edged club repeatedly at the head of the creature. Pinned by the roof, it could not move. When it raised its paw to ward off a blow, Kerena viciously chopped at it until she had partially severed it from the limb, then resumed her attack on its huge head. Finally she staggered back, her head and shoulders bent forward, her sides heaving with exhaustion. Her fury spent, she slowly let the club slide from her hand, then turned and walked to the door of the hut and looked outside.\nNot more than five leaps from the doorway lay the body of the other clar, surrounded by her fellow villagers. It was sprawled on its back, a spear sticking straight up out of its mouth. Off to the left of the clar, Kerena could see Teros sitting on the ground, his left leg bloodied and bent at an impossible angle, his face twisted in a painful grimace. Two birthers were moving over to help him. Kerena looked around and saw several more men lying on the ground, suffering from various wounds, but there were no injured Birthers, of this she was sure. Taking several deep breaths, trying to dispel the hollow feeling in her chest, she turned and walked back inside the hut.\n\nA few moments later, Kerena emerged from the hut carrying the mangled body of Mere. One of the women came up to her and said, “Are you all right?” Kerena nodded and said, “Go see about Jompar and the men outside the gate.” The woman nodded in assent and ran off. Walking over to the body of the clar, she stood next to Teros and the two birthers working on him. Lessa was pulling on his leg to set it straight, while Ria had his head in her lap and was massaging his shoulders. He looked up at Kerena and smiled. “How are you?” she asked. “I got my spear in its mouth,” he exclaimed weakly. Leena was now pushing on his leg, trying to get the ends of his broken bone to meet. Teros grimaced, arched his back, and let out a sharp cry of pain. Ria immediately slid her hands down to his chest, pushing him down and kissing his forehead. The grimace disappeared from his face, replaced by a dreamy look as he relaxed back in her lap and smiled again.\nTaking stock of the situation around her, Kerena noticed that the other birthers had moved off to help the injured. Most of the other people of the bunda now gathered around, waiting for Kerena to speak. All of a sudden a cheer went up, and Kerena turned to see Jompar striding toward them. He was covered in blood and limping slightly, but he smiled as their eyes made contact. \nWaiting for Jompar to join the rest of the bunda population now encircling her, Kerena scanned the faces of her people. Most were staring grimly at the mangled body she had laid at her feet. Many of the adolescent men and women seemed to be in shock. This was the first clar attack many of them had experienced. They would never again take the walls of the bunda for granted. Nor would they go outside them as carelessly as they had in the past. \n\nJompar was now close by, and the crowd parted to allow him to move up beside Kerena. As he looked down at Mere, tears came to his eyes. Kerena put her hand on Jompar’s shoulder and spoke: “You all fought bravely, and we have vanquished the clar.” Many smiled proudly at this, but Kerena went on, “Let us be thankful that only two of the seven clar managed to make it inside our walls.” Her words sent a murmur rippling through the throng of people. Many did not know that there had been more clar threatening the village. “That’s right. Jompar and his men killed five of them outside our walls. Let us all show him our gratitude and honor the men who gave their lives for us.” As Jompar stepped forward and raised his fist, a cheer went up, followed by a chant of “Jom-par! Jom-par! Jom-par!” Kerena then raised her right arm, and the crowd fell silent again. “We will light a [[pyre|Pyre]] tonight, and the bodies of our dead heroes will be sent to the stars.” Again there was a cheer.\n

The Bunda\n(BBC)\n\nKerena stood at the gate of the bunda and gazed at the last violet rays of the sun as it fell below the horizon breathing deeply of the warm night air. Soon Ternary’s two moons would rise in the sky. As the leader of the bunda, it fell to her to close the great wooden gate at nightfall. The bunda was a village of huts with a central community gathering area that surrounded a large fire pit. It was encircled by a high wall of tree trunks, closely spaced, driven deep into the ground. At each corner, and to either side of the gate, there was a platform built for lookouts. The bunda was situated on the western bank of a small river that separated a forest of huge trees on the eastern bank from a vast grassy plain that stretched to the horizon. As she stood looking out over the plains, Kerena’s thoughts turned back toward the day’s hunt. Her hunting party had done well. They had killed seven bounder and had not encountered any clar. And because they had found the herd fairly close to the bunda, the walk back had been easy. \n\nSwinging the heavy gate closed, Kerena appraised its handiwork. The males were very good at their work. Strong and stout, it was fashioned from whole trees held together by wooden pegs. It swung smoothly on its leather hinges. Tying the latch, she glanced up at the lookout, nodded, and then moved on. As she walked back toward the center of the bunda, she could hear the sounds of after-dinner laughter and talk that issued from the community shelter. She gazed at the various structures within the walls and admired the skillfulness of the males. Here, close to the gate, were the conical huts of the male-female pairs. The tanned skins of bounders were sewn together and stretched over long poles that met in the center. As she drew closer to the community fire, she surveyed the more substantial wooden huts built for the family units. These were built much like the walls of the bunda, using small tree trunks with mud fill in between. The roofs were thatched with the tall grasses of the plain. The males had even built a system to collect and distribute rainwater for washing and drinking. They had also gathered the wood for the fire and the grain for the mead that now made her head and spirits feel light. As she approached the community gathering place, Kerena could smell the rich aroma of the fires and the aftermath of their feast. The sounds of laughter rose above the crackling of the fire. Everyone was in a good mood, and she was more than ready to join in. All of these thoughts of males were also awakening a sweet feeling in her loins, and she smiled as she neared the community gathering place. Yes, Kerena thought, this was a very good bunda indeed.\n\nThe gathering place was a large oval scooped out of the ground. It was terraced so that there was a natural seating area all the way around the middle. In the center was a large fire pit dug even deeper into the ground. Sturdy poles were driven into the ground at intervals for turning meat. A thatched roof formed a sheltering ring over the seating area but was open over the fire. \n\nWalking into the area, Kerena glanced at the faces lit by the flickering flames. As she made her way around the oval, she exchanged greetings with several of her hunters. Others were talking in groups or were paired off with males, lounging well back from the fire. Hearing some giggling, she turned to see a small group of children being herded off to bed by a short, heavy figure that carried a child on her hip and held another one by the hand. She recognized Fanta, the oldest of the birthers. Fanta’s long, thick white hair fell across the arm of the child on one side. On the other side, it fell on her large, heavy breast, which seemed to hang almost to her bulky waist. Her hips were very wide and caused her to walk with a waddle. She also walked slightly hunched over, showing the wear and tear of the years. As she passed by, Kerena reached out and briefly touched her, feeling a warmth move up her arm. Fanta looked back at Kerena and smiled fondly as she waddled on. \n\nKerena stopped and closed her eyes for a moment, savoring the inner peace brought on by the touch of the Birther. When she opened them, she could see other Birthers clearing the remains of the meal they had prepared, while still others toiled near the smoking shed, butchering the remaining meat to hang. Moving on to a large wooden barrel, Kerena saw a group of males kneeling in a circle, making drawings in the dirt, perhaps planning a new building or an extension to the irrigation system for the fields. Kerena picked up a wooden bowl and poured herself more mead. Taking a deep draught from the bowl, she walked over to the circle of males.\nAt the focus of the circle, Teros knelt on one knee, his narrow back hunched over the other, drawing lines in the dirt and explaining his new idea for lifting water up out of the stream that flowed through the woods and rushed by the bunda. His long black hair draped across his back and hung straight down at the sides, brushing against his arm as he drew. His profile stood out sharply in the light from the fire, his nose long and angular. Neither he nor any of the other males noticed Kerena standing behind him; they were so engrossed in their discussion. Kerena watched and listened to Teros for a short time, but she couldn’t follow what he was saying. Slowly she reached out and began to trace her fingers lightly down the back of his head and the top of his shoulders. Teros started to turn with a look of agitation on his face, but as he caught sight of Kerena, it turned into a forced smile. With a sigh, he turned back to the others and muttered something, then reluctantly rose to go with Kerena.\n\nTaking Teros by the hand, Kerena led him to the mead barrel. As he stood quietly next to her, his head even with her shoulders, she filled a bowl and handed it to him. After filling a bowl for herself, she again took him by the hand and pulled him to a more secluded spot away from the fire and motioned for him to sit. Moving behind him, she sat with her long legs straddling his back, and wrapped her arms around him in a hug. Teros is still thinking of his drawings in the dirt, she thought. Picking up the bowl he had placed on the ground, she offered it to him and guided it to his mouth. “Was that a new tool for irrigation you were drawing, Teros?” At these words, his face lit up with a smile. “Yes,” he replied with obvious pride. “It is a new way to move water up out of the river so we will be even less exposed to clar attacks. The others don't think it will work, but I am sure of it. You see you plant a pole in the ground with a point chiseled at the top,” he went on. “Then you take another pole and dig a hole into it so that it fits on top of the point of the first pole. As I was trying to explain to the others, this would allow the pole to move both up and down and side to side.” \n\nAs he talked, Kerena began running her left hand through his hair and lightly stroking his flat stomach with her right. “How does this allow you to get water?” she asked. “Well, you plant this thing on the river bank, and use a top pole that is long enough to reach the water. You attach a large bowl to the end by the river and scoop up water. The point allows you to move the top pole from the water up to the bank and then swivel the bowl to the side to dump it in a sack for carrying, or into a canal that runs into the bunda.” “That sounds very clever, Teros,” whispered Kerena, as she planted light kisses on the back of his neck, only half hearing what he said. Now that he had told his story, Teros finally started to take notice of Kerena’s ministrations and leaned back until she could feel his bare back against her slight breasts. Kerena pulled Teros very close to her and held him tight for a moment. Then standing, she pulled him up by the hand and led him off to her hut.\n\nKerena lifted the grass mat that served as the door of her hut and beckoned Teros to follow her inside. She was becoming very aroused now as she turned toward Teros and took him in her arms. She kissed him firmly as she pushed her groin against his. It pleased her to see that he, too, was getting excited, as he pushed back against her. She led him over to her straw pallet, and in one smooth motion removed the loincloth from his waist. Pushing her body against his, she slowly guided him down onto her bed. She then knelt between his legs and moved her mouth down to his chest, softly kissing his upper body. She could feel his breath quickening and his heart throbbing against his breastbone. Reaching down with her right hand, she slowly began massaging his stomach. Teros responded with a soft moan and a rhythmic movement of his narrow hips, then reached down and grasped her by the shoulders. Pulling her face toward his lips, he wrapped his arms around her as they kissed. After a few moments more, Kerena could stand it no longer. Pulling back on her knees, she undid the ties of her waist wrap and threw it to the side. Now free, her trunk swayed between her legs. \n\n[[Continue in the past|Morning After]] --OR [[Back to the future|The Dig]]\n

The Dig at Night\n(ABC)\n\n“I don’t know why I ever believed that they were just myths,” Sara said, as she and Selene sat near the fire outside the tent. Both of Ternary’s moons were out tonight, and the fire was more for warmth than for light. The two women had pulled on baggy sweaters and were holding steaming mugs, recently handed to them by the cook, and preparing plans for tomorrow. Jacob had succeeded in uncovering enough of his find to tell that the skull was intact, but because the figure was on its back, it would still be some time before they would be able to tell if it had the mythical knob at the base of its skull. He wanted to continue working through the night, but Sara sarcastically informed him that it would still be there tomorrow, and besides, she didn’t want to attract attention by using the lights to work at night. Jacob also seemed to accept her admonition not to tell anyone. Maybe he liked having the knowledge of the find as his own. Oh, who knew what Jacob thought? \n\nMaggie still had not arrived, and Sara, more on edge than usual, was talking in a fast-paced, stream-of-consciousness manner. “There’s no way we could always have had Birth Chambers, even if it seems like it. We just get so wrapped up in our businesses, or sports, or men to even care what could have happened to the Birthers. Even the men, who, granted, don’t dwell very much on philosophical issues, just keep cranking babies from the Birth Chambers without a thought as to why they were originally built.” “Have you ever asked them?” Selene interjected.\n “Asked them what?” “Asked them why they built the Chambers.” “No. Why would I ask the men that? They just do what they’re told. If there’s a problem or something to be fixed, we tell them and they figure out how to fix it. That’s it.” “There’s my point exactly,” said Selene. “We don’t even give the men the freedom to make suggestions that could lead to improvements. You barely let Jacob get a word in, let alone listen to what he says.” “I don’t care what Jacob has to say,” snapped Sara. “He doesn’t have anything useful to say, and just the sound of his voice bugs me.”\n\nSelene leaned back, smiled, and said, “And what do you know about what most women think, Sara? You don’t even fit the mold very well. If you played lavalina or hunted, you might be able to understand better.” “Yeah, you’re right,” mumbled Sara, as her thoughts began to drift. She wasn’t interested in sports, nor did she desire a man in her bed. She just liked to do what she was doing today—uncovering the past and trying to solve the riddles of those who lived long ago. It wasn’t long before her mind had wandered back to a time much earlier in her life. The sun was very hot that day, and Sara could smell the earth as she turned it with the big, heavy tool. She was just a young child and was helping her mother garden. This was not something other mothers did, of course. Sara’s mom should have been looking for a mate to do that, and Sara should have been out playing games with the other girls. It was rare for a young child to even be living with her mother. Together, they were expanding the garden and digging in a new section of ground. Sara had a hoe, like her mother’s, and was digging when she pulled up the skull of a large rodent. Seeing the white skull frightened her, and she dropped her hoe and turned toward her mother, throwing her arms around her and clinging to her side. Her mother tousled her black hair, and turning her back toward where she was digging, knelt and began brushing away the dirt from around the skull with her hands. Sara pushed aside her fears and began to help, and together they carefully uncovered pieces of the skeleton. Kneeling there in the cool dirt, the smell of freshly turned earth filling her nostrils, Sara listened as her mother patiently described what might have happened to the rodent—how it had lived years ago and had probably died when a feline had caught it and eaten it. From that day on, Sara knew she wanted to study the past. \nAs an adolescent girl, instead of going to a lavalina or a hunting camp, she had gone on an archeological dig with Samantha (“Sam”) Yosser, a respected professor at the University. It was on this dig that Sara had first heard about the possibility of Birthers being real. She had also developed a deep admiration for the professor. They didn’t find any Birthers that summer, but years later, when Sara was studying under Professor Yosser at the University, Sam showed her sketches of these people, who she claimed were Ternian also. They were much shorter even than men, perhaps only reaching up to Sara’s chest, and they had large breasts. And most surprising of all, like men, they had no trunks. Professor Yosser had talked openly about how the government had confiscated her findings, and Sara didn’t believe her at first. That is, until Sam was taken away. Sara shuddered involuntarily and then shook her head, bringing her thoughts back to the present. “I mean, after all these years, not only is there no one even willing to believe in the Birthers, anyone who does gets hounded by the intellectuals and the government. We just pretend they’re myths and play our next game.”\n\nSelene smiled at Sara and gave her an indulgent look as she said, “Well, Sara, after all these years, no one has really proven they do exist.” “That’s where you’re wrong, Selene. Professor Yosser had actual remains.” “Did you see them?” asked Selene. “No . . . but I saw her sketches and I believed her when she said that the government confiscated them.” “Look, Sara,” said Selene, “I was in your class at the University, too, remember. And I heard Yosser’s stories. But the truth of the matter is that old “Sam the Spade” was crazy, and that’s why they took her away.”\nSara felt anger surge through her at Selene’s words. She had had these arguments with Selene before, and she knew Selene was just trying to push her buttons. Slowly, she drew a deep breath, and a heavy sadness came over her as she remembered the day when they took Samantha Yosser away. The scene was etched in her mind forever. She had been visiting the professor on a day when she was off from classes, helping her to plan a dig that would start in the summer, when a knock at the door startled both of them. As Sara watched from the shadows of the hallway, she saw the professor open the door and three very large, muscular women enter. They all had their hair pulled tight against their heads and tied in tails at the back, and they all wore dark glasses. One of them asked gruffly, “Are you Professor Yosser?” “I am,” Sam replied.\nThe same woman walked over and, grabbing Sam by the arm, started to pull her toward the door, saying, “The High Council would like to speak with you now. Come with me.” Sam tried to pull back, saying, “I can’t go right now, I’m in the middle of something. Can’t I just go tomorrow?” Sara stood watching, frozen in surprise, as another of the women walked over and grabbed Sam by the other arm. Together the two brutes lifted her off her feet and carried her toward the door. The third held the door open for the others, and then abruptly slammed it shut behind her. Sara stood there a moment in shock, then went to the door and tore it open, in time to see them put Sam into a carriage and drive off. She wondered if she should do something or tell someone right away, but decided to wait for Sam to return.\n\nShe had waited all night, but there had been no sign of Sam. Distraught, Sara had called her mother, and she had agreed to help. Together the two women spent days trying to track Sam down. They started with the police, and finally found someone with the Security Council who knew where she was. The day after that, a woman who said that she was secretary to the chief of the Security Council had visited Sara and explained to her that the government had determined that Professor Yosser was a danger to herself and society and that she was being held at a hospital for her own good. Sara was told that she could visit in a few weeks, but after four weeks went by with no word, she had finally called the woman back. It took another week of persistent calling before she was allowed to see the professor.\n\nSara felt a coldness settle over her at the thought of that visit to the hospital and she pulled her sweater closer around her. Selene seemed content to sit by her in silence. The details in Sara’s mind were vivid as she walked down the corridors lined with sick people waiting to see a doctor, and many were moaning in pain. An attendant led her into a small room with stark white walls, and there she found Sam sitting on a white wooden chair, staring at the floor. There was only one other chair in the room, and Sara pulled it over to sit across from Sam. The attendant left them alone, and Sara took Sam’s hand and gently held it in her own. Sam looked horrible, and she was barely coherent. Sara was sure that she was being drugged. “Sam? Samantha? Can you hear me?” The professor nodded and smiled weakly. “Sam, is all of this just because you were saying that Birthers are real?” Again, the professor nodded. Sara was only allowed fifteen minutes, and most of it she spent just sitting and holding Sam’s hand. Finally an attendant came over and told her it was time to leave. As she stood to go, still holding Sam’s hand, Sam said to her, “They’re inside you, Sara.” Sara looked down at her friend and mentor and said, “What do you mean, Sam? What’s inside of me?” But Sam just stared at the floor and didn’t reply. Finally the attendant insisted that Sara leave.\n \nSara’s trip back in time was interrupted when a figure moved out of the night and quietly came up behind Selene’s chair. Sara recognized the man with thick, curly black hair framing a round, pallid face. He had large, very dark eyes, set to either side of an angular nose, and a large mouth with full lips. Although he had the face of a heavy-set man, his shirt hung loosely on his lean, wide frame. He leaned over Selene and wrapped his arms around her neck possessively. Moving his head alongside hers, he rubbed his cheek lovingly up and down like a cat. “Mmm . . . hi, Nicky,” purred Selene. Sara stopped thinking about Sam and, with a smirk on her face, said, “Hello, Nicorous, and how are the maps going?” Nick straightened up and stood with one hand on each of Selene’s shoulders. “They’re going great! I’m just about to the north side, where you’re digging right now.” “That’s great,” said Selene. \n\nNick walked around to Selene’s side, sliding one hand across her back as he moved, letting it rest on her right shoulder. “So what are you two doing out here this late at night in the cold? My bed is freezing.” Selene reached up to place her left hand on top of Nick’s and said, “We’re waiting for Maggie to get here. She should be here soon.” “Oh,” said Nick. “Why is she coming out so late?” Selene turned toward Nick, a look of excitement on her face. “Well—” Sara quickly interrupted, giving Selene a sharp look. “We’re worried about the finances, Nick. They’re starting to get thin, and I need to find out from Maggie where we stand so I can plan our schedule over the next couple of days.” Then, casting a glance toward Nick, she added pointedly, “And I hope we don’t have to let anyone go.” “Hmmm,” said Nick, as his gaze went from Selene’s excited face to Sara’s stern one. “But why can’t you just do that over the phone?” Sara tilted her head back and looked at him over her small, round nose as she snapped, “We need to discuss progress and schedule in detail, Nick. You just can’t do that over the phone. Besides, Maggie needs to see your maps, so I hope you’re caught up when we want to see them first thing in the morning.” \nSelene shook her head and glared at Sara in disgust as she slid out of her chair, saying, “Come on, Nicky, let’s go back to the tent. I’ll help you get that bed warm.” She wrapped her long arm around Nick’s shoulder and then let it slide off, grabbing his waist with her hand as she pulled him snugly to her side. “Say hello to Maggie for me, Sara,” she said over her shoulder as they turned to go. “Goodnight, Selene. I’ll see you both in the morning to go over the maps.” Sara watched as the two figures walked away, the yellow light from the fire sliding down their silhouetted backs as they disappeared into the night.\n\nA short time later, Sara could see the shadow of a vehicle racing down the road toward the dig site as it raised clouds of dust against the orange-tint of Arok the clar. Maggie was driving at breakneck speed as usual, even though it was night. I bet she’s just like that on the playing field, too, thought Sara. As the headlights crested the hill and the beams fell on Sara, she raised one long, thin arm in a wave, just to make sure Maggie saw her. \n\nMaggie brought the vehicle to a stop beside Sara, skidding to a halt in the loose gravel. Sara stepped up to the car just as Maggie climbed out and brought herself up to her full height, at least a head taller than her subordinate. “Maggie, I’m so glad you’re here,” Sara said breathlessly. “Do you want to go out to the site and see the Birther?” “It’s nice to see you too, Sara. Actually, I’ve been driving for quite a few hours and I’d like to get something to drink. Besides, I don’t want to go out there tonight when we’ll need lights. It will just attract attention.” “Sorry, Maggie, I didn’t mean to rush you. I’m just very excited. Let’s go over to the map tent and talk. How is your new baby girl? What did you name her?” \n\nSara had lit the gas lantern that hung from the ceiling of the tent above the map board. Their silhouettes on the canvas of the tent merged as they leaned over the board. From behind, their figures were strikingly different. Maggie’s was lean, her dark skin stretched over long, sinewy muscles in her calves and forearms. Her hair was cut short so that, in the light, the outline of her skull was all that was visible. Her stare was penetrating, and it was difficult for some people to look her directly in the eye when they talked. Sara was shorter and heavier than Maggie, with black hair that hung loose over her ears, not even reaching to her pale brown shoulders. She had just finished apologizing for the map not being up to date yet. “It’s really Nick’s fault. He works much too slowly. I’d sure like to replace him.” Maggie leaned back away from the board and looked at Sara. “I’m the one who appointed Nicorous to this job, Sara, and I’ll decide if he goes or not. He’s one of the most accurate cartographers I know. I didn’t hire him for his speed. Now, just tell me how far you’ve gotten in actually uncovering the remains.” Sara, recoiling from Maggie’s stern reprimand, complied. “Jacob had the top of the hips and one femur uncovered by the time he called me. By sunset, he had a good portion of the skull uncovered and was extending down to the shoulders. He wanted to concentrate on the skull and look for the knob at the base, but I warned him about damaging the neck.” As Sara continued her description, her excitement mounted. “This is an absolutely remarkable find, Maggie! The bones are well preserved and look to be continuous, although there are a couple of broken ribs. The figure is lying on its back, but I don’t think that this was a formal burial.” \n\nMaggie had been facing Sara during her description. Now she came closer and, grasping Sara’s hands, looked into her eyes and said, “Does anyone beside you, Jacob, and Selene know about this Sara?” “Absolutely not; I haven’t put anyone else on to help, and we have been continuing business as usual everywhere else.” “Good. You did the right thing by keeping this quiet,” said Maggie in a conspiratorial tone. “We need to keep a lid on this for our own good. I don’t want anyone else to know about this.” Sara nodded and then in a lowered voice said, “Maggie, I don’t understand the High Council’s position on this. Certainly we’re not the first to find evidence? Why do you think there is no history of these beings? It’s really strange.” Maggie moved to the side and put her arm around Sara. “You really need to understand that those are dangerous questions, Sara. Because of my position at the museum, I am very aware of the Council’s position on Birthers. I also know that there is in fact a huge absence of any evidence of them, which backs up the Council’s claims that Birthers are just a myth. As far as I know, no museum on Ternary has fossil evidence of Birthers. And you know from your studies that all references in literature lead to mythical interpretations. Your find here could be very unique, if in fact it does turn out to be a Birther.” “I just know it is,” said Sara, turning to face Maggie. “Well, we haven’t proven it yet, Sara, so try to remember you’re a scientist and wait until we’ve gathered more evidence. And for Jacob’s, Selene’s, and your sake, please continue to keep this very quiet. Now let’s get to sleep. I want to see the dig site just after first light.” Without another word, Maggie stretched up, blew out the lantern over the map, then took Sara’s hand and led her out of the tent and across the [[compound|Dig next day]].\n\n\n

Scouts Return\n(BBC)\n\nKerena watched the orange streak of the setting sun reflected in the ripples of the lake as she stood at her vantage point in the tall grass on the plain above the lake. Looking to her left, across the lake toward the swamp she saw the stark silhouettes of the dead trees against the glowing disk. She was expecting the scouting party that went in that direction to return before dark and she was getting anxious. She listened closely for any sound of their return but all she heard were the cry of the white birds with the yellow bills that dove for fish in the lake, screeching constantly. That will take some getting used to if we settle here, she thought. There were no detectable sounds coming from her people because she had them hiding nearby, keeping quiet. The children were not happy with this turn of events. They wanted to go play in the lake but Kerena did not want to risk detection by the Lakers or Clar. Kerena didn’t think they would even make cooking fires tonight. It would be dried bounder meat, mead and bread for dinner.\n\nJust as the sun slid below the horizon, leaving the expansive plain of grass a grey-green hue she noticed movement about 15 leaps away. Something didn’t seem right. There was too much movement! She knew it wasn’t clar; they didn’t move this way. Quickly she set off down the hill and into the tall grass, trying to move quietly. As she moved in a bent over posture she became aware of the child within her for the first time. It was difficult to bend as far forward as she wanted without her ribs hurting. She came to a stop, and with some difficulty, squatted to her haunches to listen. She could hear the swish of the grass as the large party moved forward. They were certainly moving quietly, and well trained that was for sure. Kerena’s heart quickened. It must be the Lakers, she thought. Kerena realized that she had made a mistake. They were headed directly toward her people and she couldn’t warn them without gaining notice by the advancing group. I have no choice, she thought. I must lead them away. Kerena rose from her haunches, feeling her body tense as her heart beat even faster. She wasn’t sure how long she could stay in front of them. She felt very heavy and slow. This was foolish of me, now I have endangered this Birther child and myself. She hesitated, listening for the advancing group, and then decided. Better this than the whole bunda. She raised her hands to her mouth and barked her bunda’s warning call and turned to begin her run when she heard the same call returned. It was Neela, she was sure! She barked the all clear and the same call came in return. Standing to her full height Kerena moved toward the group. \n\nSoon she could see shadows of the figures thorough the grass, dimly lit by the remnants of the red sky, and there in front of the group moving toward her was Neela, smiling broadly. Kerena grasped Neela’s arms and said, “You found them.” “Yes,” came the reply. “There are thirteen Lakers here, all hunters,” said Neela. “There’re all that’s left of their bunda. We came upon them on our way back from the swamp. At first they surrounded us and said they were going to kill us but I convinced them to come back and meet with you. Here is their party leader Macha. She and I have talked and I believe they know that their only choice now is to join us.” Slowly a large woman with long shiny black hair flowing over her shoulders stepped forward. Kerena extended her right arm and the woman grasped her forearm and wrist, bowing her head in formal greeting. Kerena then spoke, “We have much sorrow for you and your bunda.” Macha replied, “We thank you. My hunters and I are doomed to be the last of the Laker tribe if we do not join you. We humbly request to join your bunda. We will recognize you as our leader.” Kerena smiled and bowed her head briefly and spoke, still holding Macha’s arm, “We will welcome you and your hunters Macha, but you must accept both me and my chosen replacement, as I am with Birther.” At this admission Macha’s eyes widened as she glanced down at Kerena’s stomach, but still held on to her arm. Macha then said, “So you also are lacking Birthers?” Kerena hesitated before answering. She suddenly realized that there was some danger here. What if these hunters tried to take over the bunda? Finally she responded, “We have five now but we lost one on the journey here from the plain. We must replace her. For our size bunda we need one or two more.” At these words Macha bowed her head again as she said, “Then you must be a great leader to have such a large and successful bunda. My people will be happy to take the lowest place and we will work hard to bring you continued success.” Kerena took Macha’s other arm in her hand and bowed her head once saying, “Then welcome Macha. Come bring your people to meet mine.”\n\n[[Continue|Fulfilling]]

Melissa Goes Home\n(ABC)\n\nMaggie pulled up to the gate, sounded the horn on her carriage, and waited impatiently while Kell, the housekeeper, ran down from the house. It was twilight, and Maggie stared at the three faint beams of her headlights on the dark wood of the gate and thought, I wish these walls weren’t so necessary. I waste so much time waiting for Kell to come down and open the gate. But I don’t dare leave them open either. The robbery attacks on houses in the neighborhood have just exploded this season. A couple who lived down the street was even murdered a month ago. Maybe I could at least get someone who moves a little faster. \n\nFinally the gate swung open as Kell slowly walked it out of the way and Maggie drove through and up the gravel path to the large, single-story cedar house. The path went up toward the house and then formed a circle in front. As she pulled up and stopped near the front entrance, she saw that Dale’s car was not there yet, and she gritted her teeth as a twinge of anger flared. She shut the engine off, and as she started to climb out, she heard a horn honk. It was Dale. Looking back toward the gate, she suddenly laughed out loud as she caught the look on Kell’s face. He had just reached the house, and now had to turn around and run back to the gate. Watching his slow, lumbering gait, she shook her head and realized that she probably couldn’t get a woman to do this job and would just have to get used to the time it took a man to get down there.\n\nMaggie stood beside her car with her hands on her hips and struggled with her temper. She watched Dale drive up and park behind her car. She could see that he had a worried look on his face. He’d better feel guilty about getting here after me, she thought. Dale climbed out of his car and walked over to her, smiling and saying, “Hi, Mags. Sorry I’m a little late. Tim stopped me on the way out to ask me to give him a quick status on the project, and you know how hard it is to say no to your boss.”\n\nDale was now standing in front of Maggie, looking up at her face. He knows how cute he looks when he does that, she thought. Dale had black hair, cut short to his scalp, similar to Maggie’s. His face was pale in complexion, and his white teeth, thin cheeks, and dark eyes seemed to accentuate his high cheekbones. The top of his head only came up to Maggie’s chin, but he was much wider through the shoulders and chest. Maggie scowled down at him and said, “Well, you’d better learn how because you have to help take care of Melissa every night.” “I will, I will, Mags. Really! By the way, where is she?” “Right there in the car. Why don’t you get her out. I’m going in the house.” With that, Maggie spun on her heels and walked through the heavy wooden front door of the house and back to the kitchen to get something to eat before leaving for the dig site.\n\nThe kitchen was a separate room at the back of the house. In the center was a large circular brick fireplace grill. Above the grill was a rectangular black metal hood to catch the smoke from the burning wood in the pit below. Gill, the cook, was busy cutting vegetables to add to the gronk-ka-bobs that were marinating on a tray beside the sink. He looked up when Maggie came through the single white swinging door, greeted her with a smile, and said, “Good evening, M. Runer. When would you like dinner served tonight?” “I need to leave right away, Gill, so put mine on now. I would guess that Dale will eat later, after he figures out what to do with Melissa.” “Melissa?” said Gill. “Our new daughter. I just picked her up from the Chambers. Do you know how to cook baby food?” “No,” replied Gill. “But I’m sure with a little reading I can get things figured out.” “Good,” said Maggie. “How long will those ka-bobs take to cook?” “I’ll have them on a plate and ready to eat in ten minutes.” “Great,” said Maggie. “I’ll go change my clothes and be back in ten.” Maggie walked out of the kitchen and onto the straw-colored carpet of the large living room area. There she found Dale sitting on a large cream-colored couch, located in the middle of the room, with Melissa on his lap. He was holding a bottle to her mouth. The dim twilight coming through the window and a large fireplace on the far wall provided the only light for the room. “Where did you get that?” asked Maggie. “What?” said Dale. “That bottle you’re holding up to her mouth,” replied Maggie. “Oh. It was in the bag of things you brought from the Chambers, already made up. And it looks like there are several cans of dried milk in there to make more.” “How often do you feed that to her, then?” asked Maggie. “Five times a day, according to the instruction manual in the bag.” “Oh, good, there are instructions,” said Maggie, as she turned to walk back to her bedroom. “You should be all set then. I need to go out to the dig site now. I’ll be back tomorrow afternoon.” “You’ll be back when?” said Dale, his voice rising quite audibly on the last syllable.\n\nStanding at the door of her bedroom, Maggie turned around impatiently and repeated, “Tomorrow afternoon. I’ll only get out there late tonight. I won’t be able to start until morning, and even if I start at dawn, it takes me half a day to make the rounds of all the sites. I probably won’t be back here until late afternoon.” Still cradling Melissa in his arms, Dale stood up and turned to face Maggie. “And what am I supposed to do with her tomorrow when I have to go to work?” he said, holding Melissa slightly away from his broad body. “If I recall correctly, you said that you would take care of things in the mornings if I came home promptly in the evenings.” “Like you did tonight?” said Maggie as she turned, grinning to herself, and walked into her room, past her long narrow bed and over to her closet. “I told you, my boss stopped me on the way out. I couldn’t be rude to him.” “Well, you’d better figure some way to sneak out without him seeing you then,” warned Maggie, as she walked into the closet. Raising her voice slightly, she continued, “Remember, you said that you’d take primary responsibility because you have more control over your hours than I do.” Dale, still cradling Melissa with her bottle, walked over to the doorway of her room and, staring into the darkness, lit only by a shaft of light coming from the closet, said, “I know I said that, but I’ve hardly given any thought to this. Why didn’t the Chambers give us more notice than this?” “I don’t know,” said Maggie. “It took me by surprise, too. They told us it would be twenty-four to twenty-six weeks. I guess they figured we could count that high ourselves.” “Cute, Mags, very cute. Well, I’ll figure something out. Maybe they’ve got some suggestions in that instruction book.” \n\nPulling tan shorts over her long legs, Maggie stuck her head around the corner of the closet and said, “Maybe we should look into getting a child keeper. I can see that this is going to be a bigger nuisance than I thought it was.” “A child keeper, eh. I didn’t know there was such a thing. I wonder how much they charge?” “I don’t know,” said Maggie, as she turned off the light in the closet and walked out of the room past Dale and Melissa. “Why don’t you make some phone calls in the morning and see if you can find out.” “Okay, I will. I’d better call Tim tonight, though, and tell him I’ll be in late tomorrow. This is getting complicated already. Why do you have to go running off to the dig site tonight, anyway? Can’t things wait until morning?” “No, they can’t,” Maggie answered. “This is sort of an emergency.” “What happened?” he asked. “They’ve found the remains of another Birther, and I’ve got to go take care of it quickly,” she replied.\n“Wow! Why didn’t you say so in the first place? I’ll take care of things here, and I’ll see you when you get back.” “Thanks, Dale,” said Maggie over her shoulder as she walked through the kitchen door to grab her dinner and hit the [[road|Dig at night]].\n

Next Morning\n(ABC)\n\nSara’s eyes slowly opened, and as the first soft light of the day filtered through the white drapes of her window, she stared sleepily at the ceiling of her bedroom and tried to collect her thoughts. She was lying on her back on her bed—she knew that. Turning her head slightly, she was shocked to see Jacob there beside her. Rising up on one arm, she saw that he was still in his clothes. A moment later, she was relieved to see that she was also, and then she started to remember the events of the night before. \n\nShe had been so tired by the time they got to her house that all she had wanted to do was sleep. Trying to be gracious, she had shown Jacob where her room was and insisted that he sleep on the bed while she slept on the couch. He had argued that the couch was fine for him. Still wanting to be gracious, but incredibly tired, she had tried to push him down on the bed. As she did so, she slipped on the fur rug on the floor and fell on top of him. They both laughed, and then she kissed him, rolled onto her back, and couldn’t remember anything more after that.\n\nSara’s eyes surveyed Jacob as he slept peacefully. He lay on his back with his left hand clasping his right in front of him. His head was turned toward her, and his light-brown hair was still pulled back and tied. He seemed to have a slight smile on his incredibly tan face. Sara wasn’t sure when it had started, but she knew that her feelings toward Jacob had begun to change. She didn’t understand how certain qualities of his that had once been so annoying now somehow seemed endearing. She only knew that for some inexplicable reason, she liked being near him and, more importantly, she felt she could trust him. Instinctively she reached over and began running her fingers lightly along his high cheekbone, gently caressing his face. Slowly he opened his eyes and smiled up at her. He started to say something, but she put her finger over his lips for a moment and then leaned down to kiss him. When she pulled back, he reached up and gently touched her face with his fingertips, then moved his hand behind her neck to pull her toward him for another kiss. This time when Sara pulled back, she slowly started to unbutton his shirt, exposing his powerful torso. As she ran her hands over his muscular chest, her eyes locked onto his and she followed them down to kiss him again. She could feel her trunk now as it strained against her pants, and a sweet sensation started to fill the front of her head. She wanted to be very close to him now as she sat up and struggled out of her shirt. Jacob sat up and pulled off his shirt, just as the phone began ringing.\n\nSara hopped off the bed and grabbed the phone from the dresser across the room. “When are you going to pick me up?” It was Selene. Sara didn’t answer for a moment as she tried to clear her head, then looked over at her clock beside the bed. This time Selene’s voice was more strident: “Hello, Sara? Are you there?” Sara finally mumbled, “I’m sorry Selene, I overslept.” “What’s wrong with you?” replied Selene, “You sound horrible.” Sara looked over at Jacob and smiled, holding her finger to her mouth to signal him to be quiet as she grumbled into the phone, “I feel awful, Selene. I don’t know what hit me, but I’ve been sweating like crazy and at the same time I’ve got the chills. I can barely move.” “Hmm . . . sounds like me when Nick gets me aroused…just kidding. Do you want to leave later?” “No, I don’t think this will go away very quickly,” said Sara. “I’ll have Jacob take my car, and the two of you can head back to the site. I’ll try and sleep it off today and see how I feel tomorrow.” Selene exclaimed, “That’s right! I forgot Jacob was there. Hey, too bad you aren’t feeling well. This would have been a great time to get in his pants.” “Selene, you’re incredible. That’s all you think about. I’ll have Jacob over there in an hour or so. Good-bye.” \n\nAs she hung up the phone and walked over to Jacob, still sitting on the bed, Sara said, “Hurry up and take off your pants, you need to be out of here in an hour.”\n\n[[Continue|Parking Lot]]\n

Sara and Jacob\n(ABC)\n\nNight had just fallen, and Sara was sitting by herself under the awning of the map tent, drinking tea and staring into the fire. They had just finished making their plans for tomorrow, and Maggie had gone off with Selene and Nick. As Sara had suspected, Maggie had pretty much dictated everything about the disposition of the bones. She was determined that they stick to the schedule they had agreed to for the delivery of the remains from N47. They were to be at the museum by the day after tomorrow. Sara had agreed to all of Maggie’s plans without a word of protest. An involuntary shudder went down her spine as she remembered the awful stare Maggie had turned on her out at the dig site. There was definitely another side to Maggie that she knew nothing about.\n\nSara was completely lost in thought when she heard a loud “Ahem.” Looking up, she spotted a short, broad figure standing just outside the light thrown by the fire. “What do you want, Jacob?” she snapped. Slowly the figure shuffled forward until the light revealed his entire face and highlighted his light-brown hair. Bending his head and clasping his hands in front of him, he said, “Sara, will I be able to continue work on N47 tomorrow?” “I don’t know, Jacob,” she replied. “It will really be up to Maggie.” “Oh,” he sighed. Stepping forward and raising his head even with hers, so that his face showed in the flickering light, he continued. “Well, will you ask her to let me?” Sara had to smile in spite of her fatigue. Usually these kinds of questions were the ones she found most exasperating about Jacob. But somehow she couldn’t help but admire his dogged dedication to a task he had already started. Why were men so jealous of tasks they started? What was it that made them so loyal? She reached over and pulled another chair close to hers. “Come here and sit down, Jacob.” \n\nAs he strode further into the light, she could see that he had let down his long hair, and the highlights seemed to glow in the light of the fire as it fell across his broad shoulders. He wore loose pants and an open shirt that did nothing to conceal his broad, muscular chest. As he sat awkwardly in the chair, Sara noticed a stirring in her loins that she had not felt for a very long time. Looking up at her, the flickering light from the fire adding long shadows to his sharp-featured face, Jacob met her eyes and waited for her answer. Still smiling, she said, “Jacob, I see no reason for Maggie to take you off the job. That is, as long as you don’t ask her any more dumb questions.” Jacob smiled, and his face seemed to reflect the fire even more intensely. “I won’t,” he said. “Good,” Sara replied. “And if you have some uncontrollable urge to ask one, save it and ask me. Okay?” Jacob nodded, “Okay.” Then, after a short pause, he said, “Do you believe that Birthers were real?” Sara was somewhat taken aback by the directness of his question, and she eyed him suspiciously. Then, convinced that he was in earnest, she replied, “Yes I do, Jacob. I just can’t believe that we were always born from a machine.” “Then what do you think happened to the Birthers?” he asked. “That’s a good question, Jacob. We just don’t know. There has been so little to study. And many scholars insist that Birthers are a myth. That’s why this find is so important. For the first time, we’ll have something to study, something to give us answers.”\nThey sat in silence for a while until Sara finally said, “Just why are you so interested in Birthers, Jacob?” Jacob glanced quickly over at Sara, then back at the ground, and she realized she had obviously taken him off guard with her question. Clearing his throat, Jacob answered, “Well, I grew up in a group home on the east side of Lakeville. It was tough growing up there. Unlike the women in the home, I had to work every free minute of the day to earn enough to pay for my stay. I worked mainly at construction sites, digging foundations and ditches. I remember how hard it was to drag myself home some days, almost too tired to eat dinner. But I always managed to make it down to the big library before going to bed. We had a very wise old home father there, who always told us stories. Many of these stories were ones that his father had told him, and they always seemed to have some lesson in the end.” Sara leaned forward and looked into Jacob’s eyes to encourage him. “Go on,” she said. “Well,” he continued, “I remember coming home from work one night after having my leg almost broken by a big hammer that someone was using to knock down a temporary wall. I had a huge bruise on my shin, and I was in a great deal of pain. The old home father brought me ice to put on it and then told me that what I really needed was a Birther to ease the pain. I asked him what a Birther was, and he said to wait until that night and he would tell us a story about Birthers.”\n\nJacob stopped talking then, and seemed lost in thought as he stared straight into the fire. Sara watched the shadows and light dance across his face for a while, but she was more than a little interested in Jacob’s story now and shifted impatiently in her chair. Does he do this on purpose just to annoy me? Finally she said, “What was the story, Jacob?” After pausing a few moments more, he [[continued,|Solanta]]

UNBEARABLE CHILDREN

The Birth Chambers\n(ABC)\n\n“Forget the general parking. There are some reserved spots for the doctors,” said Casey, as she and Maggie pulled into the parking lot of the Birth Chambers. “You can take my spot since my carriage is still back at the bar.”\n\nThe building they were about to enter looked like a small rectangular brick appendage connected to a large circular building that rose just one floor above the entrance. The mortar between the bricks was sloppy and gave the impression of having been built in haste. There were very few windows, and the entrance that Casey led Maggie through was an ordinary single wooden door. \n\nOnce inside the door, Maggie found herself standing in a large rectangular room with a counter set up in the center of a long wall, directly in front of her. Looking further around the room Maggie noticed that the walls to either side and on the ends had several doors with frosted glass at the top. Vague reflections of the doors could be seen in the faded pale-green tile on the floor. \n\nAs they approached the counter, a heavyset man, dressed all in white and with thin black hair stood up from a chair and greeted Casey. “What are you doing back here?” he asked. “I thought you had the rest of the day off?” “Hi Joe. I do, but I ran into Maggie here—or I should say, she ran into me, and I’ve come to help her pick up her daughter.” “You just can’t bear to be away from ’em is the problem,” shot back the man. He smiled at Maggie, shook his head, and said, “What do you expect from the only woman doctor in the whole town. Well, you must be the famous Maggie Runer. We’ve been expecting you. I’ve got some paperwork for you to fill out here, and then we need to get Melissa ready to go.”\n\nAs Joe sat down at the desk to get her folder Maggie looked through the large window behind the counter. It offered a view into a room full of tiny beds, many with tightly wrapped bundles laying on them. On several of the beds sat men in white uniforms holding the bundles in their arms and a bottle in the other. Maggie realized that these were the babies and the men were feeding them. Maggie watched as Casey entered the room from a side door and walked over to bed in front of the window. The baby laying there had its hands free and was waving them in the air. Casey bent over and gently lifted the baby from its crib adjusted the blanket over its long arms and, a smile beaming from her face, held the child up to the window for Maggie to see. Maggie just stared and blinked, searching her inner thoughts and feelings for what this moment should mean. Looking to Casey she forced a smile and then looking back at the small bundle thought, what am I going to do with this helpless little baby? I don’t have the time to give her all the care she’s going to need? Casey turned and walked out of the room.\n\nIn just a few moments she came walking into the foyer, walked up to Maggie and said, “She sure is a beautiful little girl, Maggie,” as she carefully, almost grudgingly, laid her in Maggie’s arms. As Maggie took her daughter from Casey, she felt awkward. The little bundle in her arms felt small and frail, and she worried about dropping it. Pulling the child closer to her chest, she looked down and gazed for the first time into the dark eyes of her daughter. Melissa was smiling up at her mother and pushing her blanket away from her face. She already moves with purpose, thought Maggie. She will be a great player some day. Melissa’s hair, although sparse, was the same dark color as Maggie’s. Her face was dark, drawn, and thin, and Maggie could feel the bones of her body through the thick blankets. Nearly four hours old by now, she seemed healthy and happy. “I hope Dale will be happy to see you, little girl,” she cooed to Melissa. “And speaking of Dale, I’d better give him a call at work and tell him the good news.” Just then a nurse came up to her and said, “M. Runer, you have an urgent phone call at the desk.” Casey, standing just behind, said, “Come on, Maggie, I’ll show you to the phone. Tom here can take Melissa and get her ready to go. Follow me.”\n\n“Have you uncovered the head yet?” Maggie asked Sara. “No, but I’m sure Jacob is working in that area first. He seems to grasp the importance of this find.” So Jacob found it, Maggie thought, mentally nodding. “Sara, you need to keep this completely quiet until I get there tonight.” “We’ve already got it zippered,” Sara said. “Can’t you get here any sooner?” “No,” Maggie replied. “I need to get Dale home from work to take care of Melissa before I leave. I’ll be there as soon as I can, but I think it will be very late.” “Okay,” said Sara. “I’ll wait up for you. Bye.”\n\nMaggie pushed down the receiver of the phone and then dialed Dale’s number at work. “Hello?” said Dale. “Dale, we have a new baby girl!” “We do! Fantastic! What does she look like?” \n“Like me, of course!” “She must be beautiful then,” said Dale. “Dale, something important has come up at the dig, and I need to go out there tonight. You’ve got to come home right now so you can take care of Melissa. I want you to be home by the time I get there.” “Maggie! You know that my project is behind schedule. Can’t you leave her there another night or have the housekeeper look out for her?” Maggie took a quick breath and tried to calm herself, but was not able to contain herself. “Dale, this is our daughter,” she said, “and she is NOT going to spend another night at the Chambers, and I don’t think Kell can be trusted to take care of her. We talked about this already. You have to do your share here, and that means getting home from work at a reasonable hour. You’d better be home when I get there or you’ll regret it.” With that, Maggie slammed down the phone, glaring at it. \n\nSoon she realized that Casey was still standing there. Turning to look at her, she said, “I hope we’re going to be able to handle a child at home, Casey. Dale and I both work long hours. I thought we could do this with no problem, but I’m already starting to have second thoughts. It would be so easy to put her in a group home like everyone else does, but I really want to be the one who raises her.” Casey moved closer to Maggie, and reaching up, put her hand on Maggie’s shoulder. “No, you’ll work it out, Maggie. It just takes some adjustment on both of your parts. You were right, you know. You both need to do your share. You really don’t want Melissa to grow up in a group home—there’s so little attention and love there. Everyone seems to take the easy way out these days. I think the children suffer and society pays. Besides, are the people at the group home going to teach Melissa lavalina the way you will?” Maggie smiled at Casey and said, “No, you’re right, we need to take the responsibility. I think that’s part of the problem today. Street fights like the one you were caught in are becoming much too common.” Casey smiled and, dropping her hand to her side, said, “That’s for sure, and I’m afraid those things are starting to break out in places other than bars.” \n\nBefore Casey could continue, two nurses walked up. One held Melissa in his arms, dressed in a dark-green one-piece suit. The other carried two soft off-white bags with handles. “Well, Maggie, it looks like we have everything ready for you to go,” said Casey. “I’ll walk with you out to your carriage. Here, I’ll take the bags with all of Melissa’s stuff in them, and you can take her.” \n\nWhen they had loaded Melissa and her things into Maggie’s carriage, the two women stood in front of each other, Maggie looking down into Casey’s face. “Well Casey, thanks for your help,” Maggie said. “I’m glad to have met you. It’s really amazing who you meet when you pick someone up off of the street.” “You don’t need to thank me at all, Maggie. I don’t think I would be alive right now if you hadn’t come along. I’ll always be in your debt. You take care of Melissa.” Pulling a card from her coat, she handed it to Maggie. “If you’re having trouble at home because of her, why don’t you give me a call and I can help take care of her for a little while,” offered Casey. “I can do it myself when I’m off, or I know of several day care places. Maybe we can even find someone to take care of her at your home.” “I just might take you up on that,” said Maggie, as she turned and got into her car. Pulling the door closed, she smiled at Casey, started the car, backed out, and headed for [[home|Melissa goes Home]].\n

The Game\n(ABC)\n\n“I’m glad we got the chance to do this together,” Casey said to Sara, as they walked through the parking lot toward the stadium. It was a hot, sunny day, and the slight breeze was dry but not very cool. They had just come from the Birth Chambers, where Casey had run in to drop off Melissa. \n\nA great many people had already started to arrive, and Sara and Casey were bumped and jostled as they made their way toward the entrance gate. Sara hardly noticed the other people, though, as she smiled at Casey and replied, “I’m really glad, too. I enjoy talking to you so much.” This is incredible; she then thought to herself, I’ve never felt this comfortable around anyone before. I can’t believe I’ve practically told her my whole life’s story already. \n\nThey had to walk single file for a while because the crowd was getting so thick. Up ahead of them, some women and men were laughing boisterously and shoving each other. They were getting pretty unruly, and those around them were loudly voicing their disapproval. When Sara came alongside Casey again, she said, “It’s a good thing you were able to leave Melissa at the Chambers. This would have been no place for a baby.” “That’s for sure,” Casey laughed. “Although they almost didn’t take her, it was so full there. If old Saul, the supervisor, wasn’t such a lavalina fan, I don’t think I’d be here with you right now.” “Then I wouldn’t be here, either,” replied Sara. “Here, why don’t you give me my ticket? We’re almost to the gate.”\n\nWhen they finally made their way to their seats, Sara sat down and gazed out over the stadium. It was huge—an immense tan oval setting off the cloudless blue-green sky. People were milling around their seats, many wearing hats and shirts with their team’s logo and colors. The excitement in the air was palpable. It was now just thirty minutes to game time. They had waited patiently in line a long time to get in while armed guards searched everyone’s pockets and bags. Sara couldn’t believe the stuff they had confiscated and piled in huge baskets—lavalina sticks, glass bottles, even metal chains. Guards were visible everywhere inside the stadium, too. One was stationed at each entrance to the seats, and several seemed to just roam. \n\nSara was watching a guard who was talking to some rowdy teenage girls sitting several rows in front of them when Casey leaned over and said to her, “You know, this is my first time at one of these games. I never paid much attention to sports as I was growing up.” “Really?” said Sara. “This is my first time to watch a professional game, too. I only played when I was forced to at school.” “The rest of the time you spent studying the past and trying to figure out where the Birthers went?” asked Casey. Sara turned to look at her with a wry smile. “You sure seem to know me pretty well already.” “Well, that seems to be what you most enjoy talking about.”\n“What you’re telling me, Casey, is that I’m pretty boring.” “Oh no, you’re not boring. I find your ideas fascinating. And the birth and care of babies is my job, so I’m also intrigued by the concept of Birthers. But I think you might be too focused on a single line of thought. You need to let go a little—relax, broaden yourself. You’d be surprised. Maybe you’d gain some new insight into your problem from somewhere else.” \n\nSara looked away from Casey and surveyed the crowd. “You’re right. Maybe I have been too preoccupied with the past. Put too much time into digging bones and pottery from the ground and you literally start to live in the past.” After a brief silence, Sara said, “What’s it like to work at the Chambers?” “It’s a lot of fun and very gratifying,” said Casey with a broad smile that lit up her entire face. “We are, after all, dealing with the beginning of new life.” “What do you do there, specifically?” asked Sara. “Well, as you know, I’m a doctor. I’m responsible for checking the health of the women who come in for planting, monitoring the growth of the embryos into babies, and making sure that all the newborn infants are healthy before they’re put in homes, or given over to their parents.” \n\nSara was listening with rapt attention. “You know, I’ve never thought much about that whole process at all,” she said. “I mean, I know about sex with a man, but I don’t know very much about planting, or sprout development, or even birth.” Casey laughed and said, “We offer educational courses at the Chambers, too, you know. Maybe you should come by and sit in on a few. It might give you some insight into your Birther mystery.” Sara turned her head to the side, arching her left brow, then said, “You know, I just might take you up on that. As a matter of fact, could I do that tomorrow?” “Sure,” replied Casey. “I’ll be in at 8:00 in the morning, but you can stop in any time. I really don’t have to be there.” “Actually, I’d feel a lot more comfortable if I knew you were,” said Sara. “Okay, then come by any time tomorrow before 4:00 in the afternoon. By the way, you’re not really atypical in your ignorance of the birth process. Most women don’t give it a thought until their egg has been fertilized and they need to transfer the embryo.” “You mean the sprout,” said Sara. “Yes, that’s what most people call it,” replied Casey. “But I don’t like to use that term because it tends to make us think of that small living baby as some sort of plant that you can either choose to transplant or let die.” “But the chambers offer that option, don’t they?” asked Sara. “Yes, they do. And I’d probably lose my job for admitting this, so please don’t tell anyone, but I really don’t believe that it’s right or that we should.” \n\nSara’s eyes widened at this admission, and she was about to ask another question when the public address system came on and the announcer said, “May I have your attention. Please rise for the introduction of the teams.” There was a deafening roar from the crowd as the wide double doors on either end of the large oval burst open and the players from both teams ran out in a straight line—tall, slender figures charging full speed toward the center of the field. When they reached midfield, they split, each team heading to their respective sidelines, lining up with their hands clasped behind their backs in front of the benches. Maggie’s team, the Jazelles of Rivertown, wore gray pants and bright red, padded, long-sleeved shirts. Sara could make out Maggie easily because she was the only one on the field with close-cut hair. The other team, the Slayers of Forestville, wore royal blue uniforms. Like most of Maggie’s teammates, every one of the blue players wore their hair long and pulled back in a tail.\n \nAs the announcer called out the players’ names, each took a step forward and waved to the mixed cheers and boos of the crowd. When Maggie’s name was called, the crowd chanted “Mag-gie! Mag-gie! Mag-gie!” Even Sara and Casey joined in, grinning and giggling at each other. But as the chant died down, they could hear boos and harsh yells coming from various areas of the stadium. Sara now noticed that the rowdy teenagers in front of them all had on royal blue. This did not sit well with another crowd of girls to the left and behind Sara and Casey, who cheered louder when they heard the boos. One of them yelled down at the women from Forestvillle, “Shut the mrey up, you diggers! Maggie’s going to kick your team’s face all by herself!” “We’ll see about that,” shot back another of the blue fans. “They’re going to have to take her off the field on a stretcher.” This exchange set off a shouting match that seemed to spread around the stadium as the noise grew deafening. Finally, Maggie stepped back and the crowd grew quieter again. \n\nThere was only one referee on the field, and she held the ball in her hand at midfield, ready to begin the game. At a signal from the timekeeper, she tossed the ball in the air, and Maggie and the tallest player on the Slayers collided as they tried to knock the ball to one of their teammates. Maggie’s lunge must have been quite a bit stronger, because the other player fell back and Maggie came away with the ball and was off at a dead run, cradling it in the basket on her stick. Two blue players moved in on her, one swiping at her arm, the other simply cutting her off and knocking her to the ground, but not before she was able to pass the ball off to a teammate. \n\nOne of the Forestville fans turned around then and yelled back at the teens sitting near Sara and Casey, “See that! She’ll be carried off by the third period.” This outburst was greeted by a chorus of angry shouts and epithets from the Jazelles’ fans. “Is that allowed?” asked Casey. “I think pretty much anything goes in this game,” said Sara. “And I think that they will probably double-team Maggie all day like that. I forgot how exciting it was to watch these games.”\n\nThe first of three periods went by with no scoring. The teams were evenly matched, and the Slayers obviously had a good plan for neutralizing Maggie so far. After a five-minute intermission, the second period started much the same as the first. Maggie again won the ball toss, but this time passed it off to another player as soon as two blues converged on her. This allowed Maggie to free up one of her own players. “She’s just as smart as she is fast,” said Sara. “She is an amazing player,” agreed Casey.\n\n Maggie continued to refine this style of play, always waiting until the last second to pass the ball. This meant that she often wound up on the ground, but red was steadily moving the ball downfield. Finally, on a long cross-field pass from Maggie, one of the Jazelles scored. The stadium erupted in a roar. People were banging furiously on the seats and railings as red flags and banners waved around the stands. The red fans taunted the blue, who spat back angry replies. Several fights broke out in the stands, and Sara saw guards quickly move in and people being dragged out of the stadium. She also saw guards with helmets and shock wands suddenly appear out of nowhere. The other guards all moved from the doorways to the railings to make their presence more visible. She was beginning to feel uneasy. Casey pulled her close and shouted in her ear above the din, “Is the crowd always this unstable at these games?”\n“I don’t know, but we’d better have some kind of escape route planned,” Sara hollered in reply. “I don’t like the feel of this.”\n\nThings got even worse when the blue team scored a goal just after the start of the third period. A fight broke out right beside them when a woman from the blue contingent came up to get in the face of one of the red fans seated behind them. A scuffle ensued, and they practically fell on top of Sara before the guards dragged them away. Sara leaned over to Casey and said, “I can’t believe how infectious the excitement is. I can see why the crowd gets out of control like this. My heart is just pounding!” There was a slight tremor in Casey’s voice as she replied. “Yeah, well it wouldn’t be so bad if the blue team hadn’t scored. I wonder if we should think about leaving now? I’m actually getting quite scared.” “It’ll be all right, Casey. There are plenty of guards. We just have to be careful not to get caught up in it . . . kind of like I almost just did,” replied Sara. “Okay, but I think we should head for the door if things get any worse.” “Okay,” said Sara.\n\nThe referee stood in the middle of the field. Although the sun was starting to set, the heat of the day was still evident. The lights of the stadium had been turned on, and thousands of bugs swarmed the lights and dove at the people. There were only three minutes left in the game. There had just been a fight among several players on the field, but they had been ejected, and the referee was about to start play again. \n\nThe ball went up in the air, and Maggie came down with it again. She headed toward one of her teammates near the sidelines, which caused the blue who was guarding the player to move toward Maggie. As the two blues converged on her, Maggie stopped and flipped the ball to her teammate. The first blue now had to drop back, and the second’s momentum carried her right past Maggie. This gave Maggie the split second she needed to charge downfield, unguarded for the first time the entire game. \n\nAs Maggie streaked toward the red goal, her teammate threw a beautiful high-arching pass over Maggie’s shoulder, way out in front of her, and then was decked to the ground. Now in full stride, Maggie kicked even harder and caught the ball in her basket. Only two defenders stood between her and the goal. The first defender planted her feet and refused to commit as Maggie ran right at her. When Maggie drew close, she raised her stick and swung at Maggie’s head, but Maggie had already stepped to the side and beyond her. The last defender saw this and decided to stay in goal.\n\nMaggie slanted across the field and ran toward the left corner of the small net, the first defender chasing her. Maggie had only one chance. She raised her stick as if to throw, and the blue goaltender moved to her right. Maggie checked her swing and flipped her stick back across her body and behind her neck. The ball sailed right into the net and the small statue fell to the ground. The stadium erupted first in loud cheers at the goal, and then, as everyone noticed Maggie still laying on the ground grew even louder with angry boos and outright blood curdling screams.\n\nSara tried to find a way past all of the fighting, but the closer she got to the door, the more punches she had to duck. She was just about to let the stupid little man who got in her way really have it when Casey grabbed her shirt from behind and began dragging her by the hand, up over the bleachers, as high up as they could go before finally ducking behind a signboard. They both stood there heaving, trying to catch their breath. Events were playing back in Sara’s head—they had all happened so quickly. She could see Maggie as she flipped the shot over her shoulder into the net. After scoring, Maggie continued to spin to her left, and as she lifted her hands in the air to celebrate, the trailing blue player smashed full force into her, leading with her stick right into Maggie’s head. She had crumpled to the ground, and that’s when Sara lost sight of her as she diverted her attention to things around her as fights broke out everywhere.\n\n “Well, what do we do now?” said Casey. “I don’t know,” replied Sara, as she surveyed the scene below. The riot was still going in full force. There were too few guards to control the melee, and most had fled for their lives. Suddenly Casey gasped and grabbed Sara’s arm. They both looked on in horror as one of the helmeted guards was thrown to the concrete steps and surrounded. The power pack for her shock wand was still on her back, but one of the rioters had the wand and was delivering repeated shocks to her body, which was convulsing sickeningly with each shock. Sara started to move to her aid: “I’ve got to do something—they’ll kill her.” Casey grabbed her arm and pulled her back. “Stay here, or they’ll kill you, too. We’ve got to get out of here.”\n\nSara crouched next to Casey for a minute, then stood up and looked over the back wall of the stadium to the parking lot below. About five leaps away was a metal fire escape that crisscrossed all the way down the outside wall. There was a small line of people hurrying down and out into the parking lot. “Come on, Casey, there’s our way out.” “But what about Maggie,” said Casey? Sara looked down to the field but couldn’t see anyone. “We can’t get down to her through the seats, Casey. She’s probably safer than we are, down in the locker rooms. The best thing for us to do is get out of here and meet her at the [[Birth Chambers|Discovery]]. We can leave a message for her at the museum. Let’s go.”\n

GLOSSARY\n(Use your Browser Back Arrow to return to story)\n\nAawk: Hunting weapon.\n\n(ABC) After Birth Chambers: Chapter heading – indicates that the events take place in the present\n\nArok: One of the moons of Ternary, represents a clar in the celestial legend.\n\n(BBC) Before Birth Chambers: Chapter heading – indicates that events take place in the past\n\nBounder: Swift herbivore, Ternians primary meat source\n\nBunda: Village of people surrounded by a wooden fence.\n\nClar: Large bear-like carnivore.\n\nDash: A unit of measure, about a mile\n\nLavalina: A game similar to Lacrosse, played by most women on Ternary \n\nLeap: Unit of measure, about 10 feet\n\nGronk: Large tasty herbivore.\n\nJazelle: One of the moons of Ternary, represents a mythical hunting figure in the celestial legend.\n\nTernary: Planet with two moons and a bright yellow sun.\n\n

The Council\n(ABC)\n\nMaggie was really in a foul mood. Her life had become so hectic that she didn’t think she could continue playing all of the roles she had taken on. The pressure was mounting, and at the moment she felt like all she wanted to do was scream. It was now 8:50, and she was rushing downtown for a 9:00 meeting with the High Council. She had no idea it would take so long to get Melissa dressed and loaded into the car. She hadn’t gotten home until 2:00 A.M. last night, and Melissa had been awake at 6:00 A.M., wanting to be fed. Of course, Dale had said “no way” was he taking care of her today. She had to give him credit, though. He’d had to come home early from work yesterday, even though he had plans due today, and he had been up much of the night with her anyway. So here she was, late for a meeting with the only people on the planet she really didn’t want to keep waiting. And then at 8:30 A.M., in the middle of trying to get dressed, she had gotten a very upsetting phone call from the dig site. She didn’t know what she was going to do about that. Well, there’s nothing to do but get on with what has to be done today. \n\nAfter her meeting with the Council, she would have to go by the museum and give instructions for the handling of the latest dig artifacts, and as if that wasn’t already enough, her big lavalina game was tonight at six. Luckily she had been able to get hold of Casey, who was willing to meet her at the museum to take care of Melissa. Maybe she could sneak in a nap this afternoon. Things just couldn’t go on like this. She wasn’t sure if she could handle Melissa. She really didn’t want to send her to a group home, but what could she do? Casey wasn’t always available, and day care was just that. What about all of the work she had to do at night? I guess it’s really best for Melissa anyway. She’ll get more attention at the home and she won’t have to be dragged around everywhere Dale or I go. I should have thought this through more thoroughly. Argh! I’m going to be late for the Council meeting. This day sure isn’t starting out very well.\n\nMelissa started to cry as soon as Maggie entered the Council building. There was no one there to take her, so Maggie set her resolve and marched into the Council chambers.\n\n“Whose child is that?” demanded the leader of the Council. “She’s mine, Madame Speaker,” replied Maggie, as she held Melissa over her shoulder and patted her back. “I just picked her up from the Chambers yesterday, and I’ve been so busy with everything else that I haven’t had time to get care set up. She really has been a handful.” “She should be in a group home, Maggie. That’s what they’re for,” the leader replied.\n\n“I’ve got one I can recommend,” said a council member who looked to be in her early thirties. \nMaggie didn’t know any of their names. “Thank you. I’m considering that. I’ll get the name from you later,” replied Maggie. \n\n“Maybe you shouldn’t have had her at all,” snapped another member, who was at least in her mid-sixties. “That’s why we have the Birth Chambers rather than those ridiculous Birthers, anyway. You can just make up your mind when you go in whether to plant the sprout or not.”\n\n“Stop! This is no matter for discussion, now,” said the leader. “Let’s get on with your report. You’re late, you know.” “Yes, I know,” replied Maggie. “But just the same, I am happy to report that we have nullified yet another Birther find. The remains were taken care of last night.” \nAt this, all seven of the council members nodded their heads. One, however, leaned forward and said, “Are you sure everything was taken care of? I understand that you are having problems with your site leader, Sara.” \n\n “Who told you that?” demanded Maggie. The council leader shot a glare at the member who had spoken and then said to Maggie, “She has quite a history, Maggie. We get reports from the dig site, and believe me, news of your arguments with Sara is widely known. Is she going to cause us trouble?” “Not a chance,” replied Maggie. “I’ve got someone keeping an eye on her.” “Well, don’t get careless. We don’t want physical evidence of any kind. Understand?” “Of course I do,” replied Maggie. “I don’t want any either.” “Good! Then you are dismissed. We will call you when we want another report.” With that Maggie turned and walked out; Melissa’s dark eyes staring at the council members as she [[exited|Parking Lot]] the large door.\n

Jacob’s Quandary\n(ABC) \n\nAs Maggie walked through the door of the Chambers and up to the front counter, she passed several women sitting in chairs along the side wall, who were in animated discussion, most likely about their soon to be born children. Tom was sitting behind the counter, his long legs propped up on the desk. When he saw Maggie, he lowered them quickly and sat up, saying, “M. Runer, what’s wrong?” “I don’t know if anything is yet,” she replied. “Would you go get Casey for me?”\n“Right away,” he said, as he quickly jumped up, leaving Maggie staring at the door behind the counter swinging into place.\n\nCasey came through moments later by herself, saying, “Maggie, have you seen Sara today? I’ve been calling her house since last night.” “No, I haven’t—that’s why I’m here. I’m looking for her, too. Someone tried to kill her the day before yesterday.” “What?” said Casey. “How do you know that?” Maggie motioned for Casey to come from behind the counter and led her over to two chairs in the far corner of the waiting room. They sat down facing each other, and Maggie continued in a quiet voice, “Because I’ve had someone watching her every day now for the past three weeks, and they saw her and Jacob run from a store downtown. Unfortunately they lost the car in traffic, and neither Jacob nor Sara have returned home yet.” “What happened in the store?” said Casey. “Shhh,” said Maggie as she glanced at the two women across the room. “A government-hired fanatic tried to kill her and the baby.” “How do you know the government was behind it,” asked Casey, much more quietly this time. “Believe me, I know. They’ve grown impatient with my methods and are taking matters into their own hands. I think they must have another informer.” Casey stared at Maggie for a moment, and then her eyes widened as a shocking possibility occurred to her. “What do you mean another informer?” she said. “Are you one?” Maggie didn’t hesitate before saying, “Yes, I am, but I have a slightly different agenda than they do. I guess you could almost say I’m a double agent, except the other person I work for is myself. You see, I want Sara’s child to be born just as much as she does.” “Then why did you try so hard to talk her out of it?” “Because I had to be sure she was really willing to give up her life for this. It’s not something you can ask someone to do.” Maggie could tell that Casey was skeptical. She continued, “Look, if I had wanted to prevent this birth, I wouldn’t have bothered to show Sara the Birther room in the first place. And if I had wanted to kill her, I would have been a lot more subtle than using a fanatic.” “How do I know that you aren’t being subtle now, now that ‘plan A’ has failed?” Maggie leaned back in her chair, a little exasperated. She heard the phone ring behind the counter and saw Tom answer it and then say,. “It’s for you, Casey.”\n\nAs Tom handed Casey the phone, he stepped behind her and mouthed to Maggie, “It’s Jacob,” then grabbed a logbook and exited through the door. Maggie sat calmly in her chair, picking up a flyer on female anatomy from the corner table, and tried to listen in on Casey’s half of the conversation. “Where are you? Is she with you? Uh huh. Is she okay? Good. What do you need?” Casey turned to look at Maggie, who continued to feign interest in the flyer during what seemed to be a long pause in the conversation. “Why don’t you just come here.? Yes, I’ll wait. Have the receptionist get me when you arrive, and be careful you aren’t followed. Ok. Good-bye.” Casey hung up the phone, hesitated a moment, then walked over to Maggie and said, “That was Jacob. He’s on his way over here. Sara’s safe, but he wouldn’t tell me where she was.” “Good,” said Maggie. “He’s being careful not to trust anyone. I’d better go in the back with you. I don’t think he’ll want to see me. I’m sure that Sara has him believing I’m their enemy.” Casey gave Maggie a funny look and then, without saying a word, led her back behind the counter and through the swinging door.\n\nThey were talking in Casey’s office when the phone rang and Casey answered, “Hello? Okay, thanks, Tom. I’ll be right out.” As Casey hung up the phone, Maggie said to her, “Casey, you’ve got to convince him to trust me. If he believes that you trust me, then he will also.” Casey paused for a moment, searching her face, and then said, “The only problem is that I’m not sure I believe you, Maggie.” “Well, you’d better start, or Sara’s not going to make it. I’m the only one of her friends who knows what she’s up against, and if I don’t get to her before they do, then she and her Birther child are dead. Do you understand?” Casey shrank a little from Maggie’s outburst, then said tentatively, “Okay. I’ll talk to him and then bring him in here. See you in a couple of minutes.”\n\nMaggie had picked up a male anatomy book and was paging through it, looking at the illustrations and wondering what was taking so long, when she heard Casey in the hallway. “I think you need to talk to her, Jacob. I could be wrong about her, and you need to judge for yourself.” They stopped outside the door, and Casey asked, “Are you ready?” Then she opened the door and let Jacob go through first. Maggie watched the door swing open and smiled as Jacob walked in with his head bowed. He wore a light blue hooded jacket, and his hair was pulled back in a tail, held with a fabric wrap. Maggie said, “Hello, Jacob. Is Sara okay?” At her direct question, he looked up into her eyes and replied, “Yes.” “Well, I’m glad. I’ve been worried about both of you since the attack in the clothing store yesterday.” “How did you know about that?” asked Jacob. “I’ve had someone following Sara every day for three weeks now and reporting back to me.” “Oh,” he said, with his characteristic paucity of words, as he looked back at the floor. “Listen, Jacob,” said Maggie. “You need to bring Sara to a place I know of where she’ll be very safe.” “She’s in a safe place now,” he replied. “Is it a place that has the medical facilities necessary to safely handle Sara’s birth?” Looking directly into Maggie’s eyes, he said, “She’s going to die giving birth anyway, Maggie. What does it matter?” Maggie was taken aback at Jacob’s statement and manner. He said that with such conviction, he must know everything, she thought to herself. “What about the Birther child, Jacob? Are you sure you can care for it yourself? What will you feed it?” “I don’t know,” he replied. “I’ll figure it out.” Maggie breathed a heavy sigh and tried another tack. “Does anyone else know where Sara is?” “Yes,” he replied. Maggie looked over at Casey expectantly, but she just shrugged. “It’s not her,” he said. “Well, I hope it’s someone you can trust, Jacob, because I had nothing to do with the attack in the clothing store. It must have been arranged by someone who knew you two pretty well.” Jacob paused for a moment, looking from Maggie to Casey and back again. Then he said, “I needed clothes and money from our house. I asked Selene to get them, and then I told her Sara was safe in the mountains.” With a sudden urgency, Maggie stepped forward and grabbed Jacob by his broad shoulders, looked down into his eyes and said,. “Jacob, you have to bring me to where Sara is right now!” Jacob looked up into Maggie’s unblinking eyes and stared for a few seconds. Finally he said, “Let’s go. I’ll drive.” \nMaggie dropped her hands from his shoulders and said, “You’re doing the right thing, Jacob. I need to get something from my car. I’ll meet you in the parking lot.”\n\n[[Continue|Truth]]\n

Kerena’s Dream\n(BBC)\n\nCrouching in the grass, Kerena could hear the snorts of the animals as they fed. It was very early morning, and there was no breeze. She could hear the gentle swish of the grass and the chirping of small birds as they darted about. The sun was just above the horizon in front of her. Slowly she lifted her right hand and carefully pushed the stalks of grass aside so she could see. She was startled by the size of the herd of bounder that lay before her. There must be hundreds, she thought to herself. \n\nLetting the grass move back into place, she turned to her right to motion to her hunters. None were in sight. Turning back to her left, she saw no one there either. Where were they? Slowly she crept back along the way she had come, being as quiet as she could, so as not to spook the herd. After going a short distance she still could find no signs of her companions. A feeling of dread suddenly gripped her stomach. With growing concern, she abruptly stood to look for them. As soon as her head appeared above the tall grass there was a loud grunt from the direction of the bounder heard. Moments later the herd erupted in a cacophony of grunts as they turned and gracefully bounded above the tall stalks of grass off across the plain. Slowly Kerena turned to look behind her for her bunda mates. As she gazed back across the grassy plain, all she could see was waving grass, no other Ternian in sight; only her own lonely track trailing back through the stalks as far as she could see. I’m alone, she thought.\n\nKerena opened her eyes with a start. Her head was resting on Teros’s chest, and she could feel its warmth against her ear and cheek as it rose and fell with each breath he took. As he exhaled, she was aware of the slight movement of her hair caused by his breathing. Slowly pulling away from him, she sat up.\n\nHer dream had seemed very real, and she realized now how uncertain the future of the bunda was. With only three Birthers left and no walls to protect them from the clar, they were very vulnerable. Gazing up at the light of the rising sun, she put her hand on her abdomen and thought about her promise to Fanta. She knew it would be a very hard one to keep. She still remembered the day her mother had given life to Pena . . . \n\nShe was preparing to go outside and play lavalina with the other girls when one of the hunters came running up and told her that her mother wanted to see her right away. She hurried to her mother’s hut, stopping at the door she could hear her mother moaning. Slowly she pushed the hanging grass to the side and entered, pausing again to let her eyes adjust to the darkness inside. There in the very center she saw her mother lying on a straw mat, her stomach stretched taut from the baby inside. Fanta was kneeling beside her holding her hand. Looking up she motioned for Kerena to come over and take it.\n\nAs Kerena took the warm hand from Fanta, her mother opened her eyes and, speaking very softly, said, “Kerena . . . today I fulfill my duty to the future of the bunda and give my life to the one inside me. You must stay here with me until the Birther child emerges, and then you will carry her out for the whole bunda to see. Then they will know that you are their new leader.” Kerena nodded and then started to ask her mother what she should do next when suddenly her mother’s body convulsed and she arched her back up off the mat and screamed so loudly that Kerena dropped her hand and fell back on the dirt floor in fright. Fanta quickly moved to her mother’s side and, taking her head between her hands, pressed her thumbs to her forehead. Somehow Kerena managed to stand, and then backed away until she was pressed against the far wall of the hut. She watched in horror as a strange bulge, about the size of a grapefruit, started to appear in her mother’s stomach, just under her rib cage. Her mother arched her back again as Fanta held onto her head. \n\nKerena saw shafts of light flicker across the dark sand floor as two other birthers entered through the the door and rushed to her mother’s side. Each grabbed an arm and shoulder and attempted to hold her down on the mat. The bulge in her stomach was now moving up and down, as if the Birther inside was ramming its head straight up. Kerena wanted to look away, but she couldn’t. She just stared, frozen with fear and numb with fascination. \n\nSuddenly the bulge started to move toward her mother’s trunk, and a bony spike poked through her skin, a brilliant white against the red blood that now flowed from either side of the slice in the skin. The birther inside now rammed forward repeatedly and continued to slice toward the trunk as her mother screamed one last time and lost consciousness.\n \nSpellbound, Kerena watched the small being inside her mother push its spiked back up through the slice in the skin, lift its head, and then pull its blood-covered arms free. Kerena now realized that she was feeling sick, and as Fanta reached down to pull the small being from her mother’s abdomen, she bent over gagging. After a moment, she felt someone gently pulling on her shoulder, and when she looked up, she saw Teros. “Kerena! Kerena!” He shouted his face close to hers. “What’s wrong?” Kerena shook her head and slowly focused on Teros as she smiled weakly and said, “I’m ok Teros.” He sat down beside her and said, “You seemed like you were in a trance. I woke up and heard you moaning, and then it sounded like you were choking.” Kerena shook her head and waited while a shudder passed through her entire body, then leaned on Teros as she stood up and said, “I’m okay now, Teros. I was just dreaming about my future. Come on, let’s go. We must bury Fanta and be on our way to the lake.”\n\nAs Kerena and Teros exited the hut they were met by the smiling face of Pena who was holding a baby. Walking over to her side Kerena put her hand on the birther’s shoulder and leaned over to inspect the new child. “Pena, congratulations on your first birth. My little girl looks beautiful. We will call her Kell, named for the birds that live by the mountains and soar through the air to hunt. I know she will grow fast and strong under your care. Thank you.” With that she turned back to Teros and said, “Jazelle is smiling on us. We have been given a new life on the same day that we will bury Fanta. I think everything is going to be all right.”\n\n[[Continue|Lake]]

The Dig\n[[(ABC)|Glossary]]\n\n“Sara, over here!” Jacob shouted, “Come quickly?\n\nSara Tompte stood under a tent awning almost a hundred yards away, studying the plans for the excavation with her friend and co-researcher Selene. She looked up to see Jacob standing hip deep in area N47, the newest dig on the site. He was gesturing wildly and even at this distance, and despite the loose shirt he wore as protection from the sun, she could make out his huge shoulders and arms silhouetted against the tan and white sun-parched ground. He wore a double-billed cap to shade his face and neck, and his light-brown hair was pulled back and held by a colorful band.\n\nBoth Selene and Sara were wearing shorts and loose-fitting tops, which hung from their slender bodies like the fabric on the tent poles they were standing under. Both women had olive complexions and silky black hair. Selene’s was twisted into a full braid, turned up and held in place by a bandanna tied around her head. Sara’s was cut short at an even length in front and down the sides, longer in the back. It hung straight, just coveting her ears and forehead like a fabric bowl, and swung gently with her slightest movements. “He always gets so excited,” Sara said, mildly annoyed, “It’s probably just another one of those colorful ceramic plates he thinks are so lovely.” “Now, Sara,” Selene said, “don’t be so hard on him. He’s one of our most experienced diggers, and even if it’s only pottery, you know he’s not going to stop that until you go over there.”\n\nSara shrugged her shoulders and started off across the scaffolding at a trot. As she came closer, she saw that there was no scaffolding across the pit next to the one Jacob was standing in. Barely altering her stride, she cleared the two-meter-wide gap and skidded to an abrupt stop next to N47, spraying Jacob in dust and dirt. “What is it now, Jacob?” she barked. “I think I’ve found one!” Jacob exclaimed, his eyes glittering with excitement. Sara, looking down at his sweat stained hat, demanded, “You found one what, Jacob?” “A Birther!” he said.\n\nSara was struck dumb, so unlikely was his statement. Slowly she lowered herself to her knees, carefully folding her legs under her as she did so. Shading her eyes, she peered into the pit. There, barely discernible among the dust and loose rock, was the outline of a femur bone. Cautiously she said, “What makes you think this is a Birther, Jacob?” But even as she spoke, her glance took in more of the details and her mind began to reel at the importance of what they may have found. Jacob pointed with the end of his sweep as he ticked off the evidence: “Well, for one thing, here are the points of the hip bones. See how they’re too wide to be a man’s or a woman’s. The femur is also much too short and thick for either. This person couldn’t have been more than one leg tall. It’s a Birther, I know it. I bet when we uncover the skull it’ll have the knob on it.”\n\nSara’s mind was racing, but she managed to recover her composure. “Jacob, just keep working here,” she ordered. “I don’t want you to attract any more attention or tell anyone about this for right now, do you understand me?” “Okay,” he said, and without another word, dutifully turned back to his work as Sara ran off to confer with Selene.\n\nWhen Sara reached the tent, she quickly pulled Selene inside. Breathlessly she said, “We have to get Maggie out here right away. You’re not going to believe this—but I think the oaf has actually found a Birther! I guess after all these years I was starting to think that the myths were just that.” “Wait, a minute,” Selene said, gripping Sara by the arms. “Slow down. Are you sure?”\nSara arched an eyebrow and said, “I think the evidence will be conclusive. We’ve got to call Maggie right now. Do you have any idea where she might be?” Selene nodded in reply, “Remember, the Birth Chambers called here looking for her. They must have gotten hold of her at practice. I’m sure she’s at the chambers by now.” “Perfect,” Sara breathed through her lips. “Let’s try to catch her [[there|Birth Chambers]].”\n\n[[At the dig site that night|Dig at night]]--OR-- [[To the past|Morning After]]\n\n\n

Planting Time\n(BBC)\n\nKerena strode through the gates of the bunda. Behind her were hunters carrying several bounder and even a gronk. That’s going to be good, she thought. Several men came running up to the hunters to take the meat for butchering. “Fix the gronk tonight!” she yelled. The one who took it smiled and waved.\n\nKerena looked around the bunda as she walked over to the communal area to wash at the large bathing bowl. She was amazed at how well Teros’s water channel idea worked. The men no longer had to haul water; they just went outside several times a day to use Teros’s tool to lift the water from the river up into the channel. The men were sure good at making their own jobs easier. I wonder when they’ll make hunting easier? \n\nAs Kerena drew near the bathing area, she saw Marthe, who turned to scowl at her and then skulked away. It had been two weeks since the clar attack, and she no longer went along on the hunts. She was taking on a much more important role for the bunda now, a role that Marthe was having a hard time accepting. The thought made Kerena reach down to touch her own stomach and wondered when Pena would come to her for the planting. It must be soon. Kerena took a small wooden bowl with a handle from a stack and, leaning over the bathing bowl, scooped water to pour over her head and hands. Now that feels good!\n\nThe glow of the fire from the communal pit danced across Kerena’s face as she put down the bone from the gronk haunch, with meat still on it, and leaned back. She was too full to eat another bite. She had eaten more than usual, but gronk was hard to resist. Savoring the aftertaste of the meat in her mouth, Kerena listened to the stories of the day’s exploits told by those in the circle of hunters. Banula was doing most of the talking because she was the one who had delivered the death blow to the gronk. This was worthy fare for a tale because gronks can kill a hunter with a single swipe of their horns, and Banula had risked much to bring the beast down.\nWhile the birthers cleared the remains of the meal and the hunters’ stories continued, Kerena stood and walked over to the mead barrel. As she reached for a bowl to scoop some for herself, she felt a small, warm hand being laid on top of hers and quickly pulled it away from the stack of bowls. Turning, she saw Pena standing there shaking her head and smiling at the same time. Kerena smiled back and said, “Is it time?” Pena responded by placing her hand on Kerena’s abdomen and gently stroking it. Kerena closed her eyes and murmured, “Yes, it’s time.” Pena took her by the hand and led her to her tent.\n\nOnce inside the tent, Pena removed Kerena’s wrap and had her sit down on the straw mat. Pena then stood behind her and started to massage the base of her neck and shoulders. Kerena closed her eyes and let herself be absorbed in the warmth of the Birther’s touch. She felt the tension and fatigue from the day’s hunt slowly ebb from her body. After a few minutes, Kerena could feel herself being gently guided by the shoulders to lay back on the mat, its coolness sending slight chills down her back. The slow, soothing, circular motions then continued on the front of her shoulders and chest. Before long, she felt Pena’s heavy breasts touch hers and then the warmth of Pena’s lips on her own. She felt as though her mind were floating without a body. The kiss went on and on, and then Pena drew away and Kerena could feel the birther’s fingertips trace a line from both nipples to meet at her stomach. The motion was so light that Kerena drew away, slightly arching back into the mat. Pena’s hands then started to move slowly from Kerena’s stomach, down her abdomen, to the base of her trunk, and then back again to repeat the motion. \nKerena was becoming keenly aware of her trunk as it began to twitch and stiffen. She could now feel Pena’s hands as they continued past the base of her trunk, gently pulling it with an upward motion. Kerena could contain her pleasure no longer, and she began to moan softly and to move her hips in a rhythmic motion. Suddenly, as if a switch had been thrown, Kerena could feel an overpowering urge take hold of her. She opened her eyes, sat up, and grabbed Pena by the shoulders. The birther quickly untied her own wrap, and as Kerena swung her feet to the floor, Pena lay back on the mat, knees in the air. \n\nKerena was breathing heavily now, and her mind was focused solely on her trunk as she pushed Pena’s legs apart and moved her hips between them. Her trunk was already working at the birther’s opening, which was moist and slippery, and was pushing its way inside her. It was as stiff as a wooden branch now, and Kerena was forcing it as deep as she could. When the base of her trunk met the outside of Pena’s opening, Kerena felt a surge of pleasure in the front of her head and then her abdomen began to convulse. The convulsions continued moving down her trunk, in tune with the corresponding surges of pleasure inside her head. There was a final convulsion, after which Kerena collapsed on top of Pena, her body covered in sweat, her head resting on Pena’s soft breasts. Kerena could feel Pena gently stroking her head and back. The sprout is planted and this could be the bunda’s next leader thought Kerena, as she drifted off to sleep.\n\n[[Continue in the past|Dry Season]]\n[[Back to the future|Solanta]]

Moment of Truth\n(ABC)\n\nSara made her way along the narrow path that circled the hill on her left and led to the small log hut. It was covered with pine needles and lit by the soft rays of the afternoon sun filtering through the trees above. She had gone up to the road to wait for Jacob but had grown tired and hungry, so she was heading back. The sound of the wind in the trees above, punctuated by the chirping of the birds as they moved from branch to branch, made her feel more at ease than she had this morning after Jacob left. Just the same, she hoped that he was hurrying back to her. She did not want to spend the night alone in that little log hut. \n\nIt was comfortable enough. It had two windows on either side of the front door that let in light, and there were two small stools and a table inside the single room. Jacob had made them a bed using the blankets they had bought on the way there. The hut was situated in a little clearing that was surrounded by huge trees. There were two small log benches in front with a fire pit between them. It was obvious that the hut and the benches had been built from the trees that had been felled in the clearing. Their stumps, standing like monuments, were still visible in the short grass that had grown up there.\n\nAs Sara continued down the path to the hut, she came to the place where it intersected the stream and then cut back to the left, following the base of the hill. Hearing the rushing water of the stream below again reminded her of children’s voices. It also reminded her that she hadn’t washed her hair for several days, and as she reached up to run her fingers through it, she realized how tangled and dirty it was. She had not cut it in some time now, and it had grown long enough to touch her back and shoulders. Turning toward the stream, she carefully made her way down the bank to the large rock she had slept on the day before.\n\nThe dark-colored rock felt warm from the sun as Sara, on her hands and knees, dipped her head in the swirling water. She sat back on her knees and squeezed the water from her hair. She had removed her tunic so it wouldn’t get wet, and she shivered slightly as the cold rivulets of water ran over her shoulders, between her breasts, and down the sides of her swollen stomach. Her head was numb from the cold, but she liked the way it tingled as the sun warmed her scalp. She shook her head from side to side and then combed her fingers through her hair. The sun felt wonderful on her face and chest, and she leaned back against her rolled-up tunic, closed her eyes, and watched the dark threads that floated in her eyes dance against the bright light.\n\nSuddenly her eyes popped open, and she turned her head to the side. She thought she had heard someone talking up above. Grabbing her tunic to her chest, she moved into the shadows closer to the bank. There it was again! There were two voices, and they had just passed on the trail above. Sara’s heart was pounding in her chest. What should she do? Maybe it was just a couple of day hikers. She pulled her tunic back on and slowly, quietly made her way back up the bank, reaching the top with some difficulty. Her balance was thrown off by the extra weight in front of her, and she was breathing heavily. Kneeling on the ground, she stopped to catch her breath. \nLooking around, she realized that she was in plain view of anyone coming down the path from the left, and if someone came around the corner to the right, she would have no time to hide. Raising herself to a crouch, she moved as quickly as she could across the path and climbed the gently sloped, tree-studded hill. When she reached the top of the rise, she thought she saw the clearing below. Moving quietly along the pine-covered slope, she drew closer. As she came within a dozen steps of the thick bushes that lined the clearing, she heard a woman say in a hushed voice, “Over here!” \n\nCreeping up behind one of the thick bushes, she knelt and peered through a narrow opening in the foliage and tried to calm her breathing and slow her heart, which was pounding in her ears. From her vantage point, she could see the front of the house, which lay about three hundred steps away. The path to the hut was perpendicular to the front door, and she could see a tall, muscular woman just coming off the path and walking across the clearing to the hut. She was wearing black shorts, black sandals, and a white shirt with no sleeves. Another woman, much smaller than the first and dressed in long dark pants and a gray tunic, was peering through the window on the right side of the door, her hands cupped on either side of her face to shield out the reflections from the sun. \n\nAs the large woman approached the house, Sara thought she heard her say, “See anything?” The other replied in a voice that was familiar to Sara. “No. She’s been here, though. She must be off walking through the woods. Let’s see if she’s nearby.” The woman then walked to the center of the clearing, raised her hands to her mouth, and shouted, “Sara! Are you out there? It’s Selene! I’m here at the shack in the clearing! I’ve come to help you!”\n\nSara felt relieved. She didn’t particularly like Selene anymore, but they used to be friends and it was good to hear a familiar voice. Jacob must have told her where she was and sent her ahead. She didn’t know who the other woman was, but she looked like she might be a good ally in a fight. Maybe that’s why Selene brought her along. Standing up, but staying behind the bush, Sara shouted, “I’m over here, Selene!” Sara saw Selene turn toward the other woman, then look back and say, “Where are you, Sara? Come on out. It’s okay.”\n \nSara made her way through the thick undergrowth and into the clearing, and then stopped. Something didn’t seem quite right. The large woman near the house had turned toward her and then looked back at Selene. Selene was farther away, about four hundred steps. She put her hands in the pockets of her tunic and started to walk toward Sara, saying, “I haven’t seen you in quite a while, Sara. You look good. Are you feeling okay?” Sara replied, “How did you know I was here?” Selene, perhaps sensing Sara’s unease, stopped and said, “Jacob told me.”\n“Then where is he?” “I don’t know, Sara. He told me there was someone else he wanted to talk to before he came back here. Maybe he went to see Maggie.” “He wouldn’t do that,” replied Sara. “Well, then, I don’t know, Sara. He’s probably on his way here right now. Why don’t you come on over so we can talk until he gets here. You can meet my new friend, Cola.”\n\nSara looked over at the large woman, who smiled, nodded her head, and in a deep voice said, “Hello, Sara. I’ve heard a lot about you from Selene. I’ve really looked forward to meeting you.” She began walking toward Sara, extending her arm to shake her hand. Sara felt a strange uneasiness settle into her stomach at the site of the large woman moving toward her and started to edge back toward the bushes. Selene also started walking toward her again. The two of them were about fifty steps from Sara when a voice cried out, “Stop! Don’t get any closer to her!” \nBoth women stopped in their tracks. Cola looked over toward the path, and Selene spun around in place. Sara’s attention was also drawn toward the opening in the woods, where she could see Maggie standing with her lavalina stick in her hand. Selene spoke first. “Are you here to kill Sara, Maggie?” “No, I’m here to stop you and your goon from killing her.” “Oh, that’s a good one, Maggie. You’re the one holding a weapon.” Maggie took two forceful steps off the path into the clearing as she said, “And your weapon is standing there next to the house. Don’t get any closer to that goon, Sara. If she gets her hands on you, you’re as good as dead.” Selene yelled, “Don’t listen to her, Sara. Cola will protect you from her.” As she said this, Selene pulled a hand from her tunic, put it behind her back, and motioned Cola to move toward Sara. Sara looked from Maggie to Selene to Cola and realized that she was trapped against the thick bushes behind her and that her awkward, slow body wasn’t going to be able to run away from any of these women. She struggled to analyze the situation. She didn’t trust Maggie a bit, yet it seemed that she was only concerned about her getting close to Cola. Selene seemed ready to defend Sara, but she couldn’t tell for sure. And big Cola was on her way toward Sara. She needed to do something quickly, but what? Before she could do or say anything, Maggie yelled, “You’d better get your goon to help you, Selene, because I’m going to kill you right now,” and she began to run directly at Selene, her stick ready in front of her. Selene let out a fearful scream, “Cola!”\n \nSara watched in awe as Cola turned in mid-stride and headed straight for Selene and Maggie. She didn’t think someone that big could move that fast. The muscles in her calves knotted like cordwood as she ran. Maggie may have been surprised by the big woman’s speed, too, because she stopped abruptly in her tracks about ten steps from Selene. Cola continued her charge past Selene, straight toward Maggie, who raised her stick over her right shoulder. Cola lifted her huge left arm to intercept the blow of the stick and kept going. Just as it looked like Cola would slam straight into her, Maggie quickly stepped aside, and before Cola could turn around, she swung her stick down at her heel, striking her on the Achilles. Cola let out an anguished bellow, fell to the ground on her stomach, then rolled to her back and started to get back up. Sara then saw how quickly Maggie could move. In an instant, she ran up to Cola, who was still on one knee, feigned a blow to the right side of the big woman’s head with her stick, then kicked it on the left. Cola’s head flopped to the side, and as her hands went back to break her fall, Maggie’s stick caught her across the windpipe. She fell to the ground, gurgling and clutching her throat.\nSara’s stomach then knotted in fear as she saw Maggie turn and start running toward her. Selene, who had stood just as Sara had and watched the fight, now ran toward Sara also. At first, Sara felt some hope that Selene could protect her from Maggie, but Selene had pulled a long-bladed knife from her tunic and was running straight at her rather than turning to confront Maggie. \nSara’s brain was yelling for her to run, but she was unable to move, her legs frozen in place. She just stared at the knife in Selene’s hands as it came directly toward her. Suddenly a blur of light blue came into view from her left and slammed into Selene, knocking her to the ground. The two bodies tumbled a short distance toward Maggie, and Sara heard Selene yell “No!” as she quickly jumped back to her feet and charged toward the figure that was still on the ground. Sara gasped in horror as she realized it was Jacob. \n\nSelene jumped astride Jacob, who was on his side, and raised her knife with both hands directly over his neck. Sara saw the glint of the steel blade in the sun as she yelled, “Selene—no!” Selene’s arms started moving down toward Jacob’s neck, but before she could strike, Maggie swung and knocked the knife from her hands, then swung again, striking her in the ribs. Selene groaned and fell to the ground, where Maggie struck a savage blow to the back of her neck. Maggie then turned toward Jacob as Sara screamed, “Jacob!” \n\n[[Continue|Death for Life]]

Kerena now slowly scanned the faces of her people, and a silence descended as her gaze fell on Marthe. Slowly she raised her arm pointed at the woman and said, “We have lost two who were very precious to us all—Mere and the child she carried.” In unison, all bowed their heads and many wept. Kerena paused only briefly and then continued, “We will return Mere to the earth that produced her, but we must replace her if our bunda is going to continue to grow.” This declaration immediately got the attention of the women, and all waited expectantly for Kerena’s next words. “Marthe! Step forward!” This set off another round of murmured speculation as Marthe came slowly forward, her eyes wide with bewilderment and fear, her jaw slack as she began to pant and shake her head. “You were the leader of the hunting party today! It was your error in judgment that led the clar to the bunda!” The murmur of the crowed now grew. Kerena continued, “It was your responsibility to lead them away at all costs. You have demonstrated very poor judgment, and you must now provide the bunda a replacement for its loss.” With that, Kerena stooped and gathered the body of Mere in her arms, turned her back on Marthe, and strode off toward the burial corner.\n\nKerena stood holding Mere and looking at the clouds gathering overhead. A few rays of the evening sun lanced through them, and her eyes followed their golden-red path down to where they illuminated the ground in the burial corner of the bunda. Her long black hair fluttered lightly around her face in the wind, and she shuddered slightly. Slowly she looked around at the faces of the people. It had only been a day since the clar attack, and everyone had been working hard. Besides their regular chores, there were repairs to be made to the wall and the huts, a funeral pyre to be built, and a grave to be dug. Kerena had even insisted that the hunters help carry the wood for the pyre and that Marthe help dig the grave for Mere. It had been a somber day, and the birthers had been called upon to soothe many sorrows.\n\nAs the bunda members looked on quietly, Kerena stepped to the edge of the deep oval grave, knelt, and gently laid the body of Mere on her side. As she stepped back, two men came forward with wooden shovels, and slowly, alternating, they filled the hole with dirt. As the sorrowful strains of wooden flutes played by the birthers filled the air, all the men joined in singing:\n\nLie down; oh lie down, our mother of all.\nRest, oh rest, our teacher we recall.\nSleep, oh sleep, you healer of hurt.\nDream, oh dream, and return to the earth.\n\nWhen the grave was filled, Kerena stood and watched as the people of the bunda, one by one, walked over to touch the grave, then slowly turned and walked off toward the fire pit. Once there, they would begin to stack the wood for the funeral pyre. Seven bodies were laid side by side on a wooden platform built over the pit. There would be no dinner tonight. Instead, after the last rays of light left the sky, they would gather and watch their fallen heroes return to the stars in the flames and smoke of the fire.\n\nTurning back toward Mere’s grave, Kerena saw that the birthers were now saying good-bye to her as they patted and smoothed the ground. Slowly they stood and joined hands, encircling the grave, heads bowed. Kerena looked on and felt the overwhelming sadness of their loss. She reached down and placed her hand on her stomach. She imagined that she could almost feel the sprout within her narrow body. Should she take Marthe’s place? No. Her decision was the right one. It was Marthe’s duty. Slowly she turned and walked over to the communal area to light the funeral pyre.\n\n[[Continue|Planting Time]]\n

Maggie watched as the other women slowly strolled across the field. Her gaze lifted to the wooden benches of the huge stadium and she imagined the roar of the crowd in her ears on game day. She quelled the excitement in her chest with a deep breath and walked over to the sidelines where a semicircle had formed around Denise. Those in front went down on one knee; the others stood behind them, leaning wearily on their sticks. All of the women were tall and lean with well defined musculature. Most wore their hair short, but a few had long tails or braids. Every woman's hair was dark black with blue highlights, except Maggie's. Playing professionally for the Jazelles was a full-time job for some. For Maggie, it was a diversion from her other job as Curator at the Museum of Ternary's Past.\n\n[[To the Past|The Hunt (BBC)]]. --OR-- [[Back to the Lavalina field|Lavalina]].\n

Lavalina was a year-round sport and was played everywhere on the planet. It was the favorite sport of women of all ages on the planet [[Ternary|Glossary]]. There was organized competition for small children all the way up to professional adult leagues. No one could remember when the game wasn't played, and Maggie knew from her own research that it existed back to the beginning of recorded time. It was an important outlet for aggression and "Jazelle knew" that people needed it more than ever these days. The Jazelles, named after the moon goddess of hunting, practiced every day after work, and games were scheduled on most weekends. Today's, however, was an extra practice because they had a game coming up in two days against their main rivals from a nearby town. It was about noon, and they had just finished a very intense scrimmage. Everyone was wet with perspiration and covered with grass stains and dirt. Maggie stood in the back, her dark face intense. She wanted to hear what the [[coach|Denise]] had to say.

Moving the Bunda\n(BBC)\n\nKerena could feel the heat of the early morning sun on her back as it warmed the dark hair that fell across her shoulders. Looking around, she searched the faces of the people, illuminated by the bright orange morning light, as they stood in a circle around the mead cave. Some wore expressions of sadness, some of fear, and some of excitement. Yet she was sure that they would all be ready for whatever lay ahead of them.\n\nIt had been a somber group that had awakened this morning on the far side of the river, and in the chill of the new day, Kerena had made up her mind. She was going to move the bunda. They would gather whatever possessions had survived the fire and head south toward the lake. They had nothing to keep them here now, and much less to carry. They could leave quickly, and everyone would be more willing to go. They would have to rebuild the bunda anyway—why not somewhere else? And the Lakers? They would deal with them as necessary. They would leave today and travel in the mornings and late afternoons, resting during the heat of midday. \n\nSar sat to Kerena’s right on a travois fashioned of sticks and animal skins that they would use to carry supplies and children. They would build more along the way, and everyone would take turns pulling them. Sar was wearing a moist fabric shirt to cover the burns on her back. She sat very still and had not said much since last night. Next to her lay Marthe’s body, wrapped in cloth, ready for burial. \n\nSar was staring at Marthe’s body when Kerena knelt beside her and said, “How are you feeling?” Sar looked over at Kerena and said, “Why are they going to bury Marthe?” Kerena replied, “Because she carries a Birther within her and we must return it to the earth. Besides, I don’t think anyone wants to see a fire today anyway.” Sar nodded, a look of pain evident on her face. Kerena leaned closer and said, “You did a very brave thing yesterday, Sar. I am very proud of you.” As Sar look at her, Kerena could see the pain even in the young woman’s eyes. Sar dropped her eyes and opened her mouth to speak, closed it, then tried again. “I failed you and Teros and the others. Marthe and her baby are dead because of me.” Kerena reached over to grab Sar by the arms but caught herself, remembering her burns. Instead she brought her face very close to Sar’s and said softly but firmly, “Now listen to me, Sar. You did what you could to save Marthe. You did more than anyone could have done. It is Marthe’s own fault that she died. She stayed behind on purpose. She was a coward and a fool, and you are ten times the woman she was. Do not blame yourself. Do you understand?” Sar turned to look at Kerena, her eyes moist, and just nodded. \n\nKerena looked up and, spotting Fanta, motioned for her to come over and take care of Sar. She then got to her feet and walked over to the body of Marthe. She had been so angry this morning that she had wanted to just leave the body where it lay on the far bank for the animals to eat. The Birthers had tried to convince her to let them bury Marthe in the sacred area, but she had refused. Instead they would collapse the mead cave around her. Thanks to Teros’s quick thinking, everything in the mead cave, except Marthe, had survived. They had cleared everything out and attached ropes to the supports so they could pull them out once Marthe’s body was inside. \n\nKneeling, she picked up Marthe’s body, and walked over to the mouth of the cave. The entrance to the cave was shallow and narrow, sloping back to the deeper storage area. It was usually the young boys’ job to move things in and out of the cave. Kneeling, she placed the body at the entrance and crawled inside, then reached out and pulled it in after her. Moving to the back, she placed the wrapped body in a sitting position against the earthen wall. “This is obviously where you wanted to be buried, Marthe,” she said aloud. “Therefore I grant you your wish. May your death serve more purpose than your foolish life.” \n\nWhen she had climbed out of the cave, Kerena walked back to stand next to Sar and spoke to the others. “And so we begin the journey to our new bunda. Let us go.” With that, she gave the signal for the men to pull the supports. As the roof of the [[cave collapsed|Knob]], Kerena turned and headed south, never looking back.\n\n[[Continue|Promise]]

Lavalina Practice [[ABC|Glossary]]\n\nMaggie stretched out her long, dark arms and caught the ball in the basket of her Lavalina stick without breaking stride. The sun glinted off the close-cropped auburn hair which traced the outline of her skull. She knew that Val was right behind her, and that she was in trouble if the big woman started checking her. Just then, she felt a fierce blow to the thick padding on her right arm. Quickly she stopped and veered to her right. The taller and heavier woman, black hair pulled back, continued past, carried by her considerable momentum. As Val tried to cut and turn, Maggie kicked out with her left foot, just enough to catch the larger woman by the heel. Val fell to the grassy turf with a grunt, rolled, and quickly bounced back up, but it was too late. Maggie was twenty yards down field now, in full stride, her feet touching the grassy ground for the barest of moments as her legs kicked high in the air, almost seeming to reach her head, covering meters with each stride. The goalie came out to meet her, but with a spin and a flip of her stick over her left shoulder, the ball sailed past the last defender to knock the statue of the [[bounder|Glossary]] from its wooden post. [[Maggie|Maggie]] slowed to a walk, and a small smile crossed her lips as she ambled toward mid field.

Clar Attack\n(BBC)\n\nKerena was still leaning against the pole under the community shelter when she heard the shouts from the lookouts. Jumping to her feet, barely feeling the pain in her thigh, she ran to the gate and in one leap landed on the lookout platform next to Teros, whose turn it was to stand guard. He pointed off to the southwest. It was late afternoon, and the sun was directly in their eyes, so she had to squint, but she saw them immediately. Running across the grass-covered plain toward the bunda were nine figures being chased by a band of seven very large, fur-covered creatures. They were clar, and the walls of the bunda were built specifically to keep these dangerous carnivores out.\n\nEven at this distance, Kerena could see the dark-brown, muscular bodies and long legs of the fearsome animals. When they stood, they were almost twice as tall as a female and perhaps three times the weight of a male. Luckily they couldn’t run as fast as the hunters, but that didn’t matter; they had the scent of the bunda now. \n\nThe hunters were about a kilometer and a half from the gate and running full out, being led by Marthe. They were in staggered formation and totally disorganized. Damn! thought Kerena. This is my fault! There’s no one to give orders, and they’re not doing anything right. They should have led the clar upriver, crossed the stream to lose their scent, and come back down through the woods. “Look at that!” she said out loud. “They’re still carrying meat! They should have dropped that a long time ago!” Slowed by their heavy loads, several of the hunters had fallen quite far behind the others. It had never occurred to them to drop the meat so the clar would go after it. Kerena knew it wasn’t a sure thing; the clar were hunters and preferred fresh meat, but they might take to the bait.\n\nEven without being told, the men of the bunda had grabbed spears and were fanning out along the wall. Several were standing near the gate, which had been closed to just a small gap for the returning hunters to get through. Most of the adolescent males and any remaining hunters had also grabbed spears and were moving back to protect the Birthers. The adolescent females had drawn their weapons and were standing next to the men on the platforms around the walls. With their sharp claws, clar could climb pretty well, so the defenders would have their work cut out for them. The men would use their spears to try and keep the attacking animals off the walls, and the adolescent females would chop at their paws and snouts as they tried to get over.\n\nSurveying the scene outside the walls, Kerena realized that, because several of the hunters were so far behind the others, it was going to be very close. At least they had finally dropped the meat they were carrying. Terror must have put some sense into their heads, but just as she had feared, only one clar had been deterred by it; probably an old one.\n\nThe lead hunters were now almost to the gate. “I hope we have time to get that gate closed,” said Teros. “Maybe we should send some men outside the gate, just in case,” Kerena replied. “They can fight off the clar and then fall back in.”\n“And still leave the gate open?” asked Teros. “I don’t think that’s wise. We can’t risk the Birthers. If the clar are too close to those trailing hunters, we should either close the gate on them or send the males out and close the gate after the hunters make it through.” “You would leave them to be killed, then, Teros?” asked Kerena in amazement. “To protect the Birthers, yes I would,” he replied. “The chances of those clar getting inside are much greater if we leave the gate open.”\nKerena knew this to be true. The sure thing was to close the gate on the last few hunters. They wouldn’t stand a chance against the huge animals, but it was the best strategy for keeping the clar out of the bunda. On the other hand, if she sent the men out, they would probably kill a couple of the clar before they got to the walls, and that would reduce the number of injuries among the defenders. The men were better at fighting the clar. The hunters are used to killing quickly, but you can’t kill a clar quickly. After a short pause, she looked over at Teros and said, “I think we should send the men out. It’s their job to protect the bunda.”\n\nKerena turned and looked at the expressions on the faces of the men below. Jaws set with determination; they were ready to do what they had to. Without further hesitation, Kerena jumped down from the platform and began shouting orders. “Jompar! Take five men and go about thirty leaps outside the gate. The clar are too close behind the hunters. We must slow them down so the hunters can get in. Kill as many as you can. The bunda is depending on you.” Jompar did not hesitate. Nodding in agreement, he called for five volunteers who quickly assembled and then lumbered out through the gate.\n\nNo sooner had the men passed through the gate when Marthe burst through, breathless. “Kerena!” she shouted. “We never saw them! We were walking home with our kill when Neela happened to turn around and spot them. Before we knew it, they were almost upon us.” \nKerena took a step toward Marthe, anger burning in her eyes. Leaning very close, her nose almost touching Marthe’s, she snapped, “How could you have been so stupid?” Marthe started to say something, but Kerena cut her off. “There’s no time for this now. Get the others up on the wall. Now that you’ve led them right to the bunda, we have to make sure they don’t get in.”\nMarthe again started to say something in protest, but thought better of it. She hung her head and headed off for an empty space on the wall, followed by the others. Kerena turned to the men and said, “As soon as the other hunters make it through the gate, close it and don’t open it again until I tell you.” The men nodded as Kerena turned to jump back up on the platform.\n\n[[Continue|Clar in Bunda]]\n

Professor Sam\n(ABC)\n\nThe street lights were still on as Sara drove across town toward the hospital. The light posts cast long shadows in the early dawn light, and the streets and buildings had a surreal glow. She was following a slow-moving, dirty brown dump truck full of burlap sacks. The truck suddenly came to a stop in the middle of the street, the rough chug of its motor echoing between the buildings. Sara’s shoulders slumped in exasperation. \n\nLooking to her right, she saw a large building whose old wooden sides were silvery gray with age. The sidewalk along the building was strewn with bodies in shabby clothing, lying at impossible angles. In the morning light, they looked like featureless oblong black holes in the fabric of the scene. Some were propped against the wall; others were propped against each other. Looking more closely, she saw that there were many more women than men, perhaps outnumbering them four or five to one. Her nose wrinkled at the rank smell on the breeze as it seeped through the tiny opening in her window. The brewery—I should have known. Just then, a large sliding door, taller than the truck, opened in the wall, and several figures came out. Picking up the bodies that lay in the way, they threw them roughly to the side as if they were sacks of grain. Slowly, the truck turned its front wheels and drove into the building.\n\nSara drove on, thinking about Samantha. She had been a little surprised when she made the call last night to learn that Sam was still at the same hospital—or still alive, for that matter. She felt guilty visiting her out of the blue like this, after all these years. At first, she had gone to see her quite often, but they had never spoken much. Sam was always in a drug-induced stupor, and Sara had done most of the talking. It had been a very depressing time. She had tried, in vain, for several years to get Sam released. But after months of calling and visiting the Security Council, trying to find someone who had authority to do anything, she had finally given up. Gradually over the years, she had visited less and less. She still wrote at least once a year, but Sam had never written back, so she really had no way of knowing if the letters ever got to her. Now, as she pulled up in front of the hospital, she realized how much she missed Sam, and a sudden sense of urgency came over her. She parked the car and hurried inside.\n\nSara tried not to show her nervousness when the receptionist at the front desk asked for her name. After jotting something in what appeared to be a register, he said, “Is she expecting you?”\n“She should be. I called last night and they said they’d tell her,” lied Sara. “Hmm,” he said. “I don’t have any record of your name here on today’s visit register.” “Well, I called very late last night. Maybe they forgot to add it.” The man stared suspiciously at Sara for a moment and then said, “Okay. I’ll check on this later. The professor doesn’t get many visitors. I think she could use some company. You can go on up. She lives in unit 342. That’s the third floor.” “Thank you very much,” said Sara, as she hurried past him to the stairs. \n\nSara knocked on the white wooden door and waited. She heard the scrape of a chair inside and then a shuffling of feet. As the door swung open, she found herself gazing into the face of a very old woman. Sara was shocked to see how much the professor had aged. Sam had been teaching at the university for some time before Sara had enrolled, more than ten years earlier, Sara knew, but back then she hadn’t given much thought to how old she was, assuming that she was somewhere in her middle years. Sam’s hair was almost completely white now, with just a few streaks of gray, and her pale blue eyes were dull and lifeless. But after a long moment, a glow came into them and a smile creased her entire face as she recognized her former student. “Sara! I can’t believe it’s really you! I’m so glad to see you.” Sara fought back tears as she replied, “It’s good to see you, too, professor, and to hear your voice!”\n\nThe professor reached out and took Sara’s hand in hers. “Please come in.” She’s much more lucid than I ever remember her, thought Sara, as she walked into the small room and glanced around. There was a single window on the far wall with a night stand underneath. Outside, the sun had risen, and streaks of warm sunlight fell on the small bed to the left of the window, on the right stood a simple desk and chair. Sam closed the door behind her, and Sara watched as the old woman shuffled over and, pulling the chair out from under the desk, pushed it over next to the bed and beckoned for Sara to sit down. “I want to catch up on everything that’s happened since I last saw you. It’s been such a long, long time.”\n\nSara sat down in the chair and watched as Sam settled herself on the bed. Then she took Sara’s hands in hers and pulled her closer, saying in a conspiratorial whisper, “It’ll sure be nice to be able to have a normal conversation with you, Sara. Now that I behave myself, they don’t give me those damn pills anymore, and I think they have forgotten all about you around here. What have you been doing all these years?” Sara felt a rush of excitement as she realized that her old professor was back. She could have a real conversation. For a moment she felt like the eager young student come to visit her professor’s office. “I guess I’ve been following in your footsteps,” Sara began, as she launched into a brief synopsis of her life over the past ten years. The professor’s eyes glistened as Sara told how Sam’s teachings had inspired her own love of antiquity and how much they had influenced her choosing archeology as a career. As she spoke, Sam listened intently, and a look of pride came over her face as Sara told of the many significant finds she had made as a young archeologist, modestly attributing them to good fortune rather than skill. These successes had undoubtedly led to her current position as second in command of one of the most important dig sites in this region of Ternary. It made Sara feel good that she was making the old woman so happy. \n\nWhen Sara came to the events of the past few months, however, Sam’s demeanor began to change. At first, when Sara told her about Jacob’s finding the Birther and about following the bones to the Birth Chambers, a look of concern came over her face. “Oh, Sara, do please be careful.” But as Sara described the huge room of Birther remains at the Chambers and Maggie’s role in hiding all that evidence the professors eyes grew wider and wider and she moved closer, taking both of Sara’s hands in hers. Earnestly, she pressed Sara for more details. “Are you sure that the remains are all from legitimate finds? How many Birther bodies were there? Was there really a Birther child?” And finally, with a note of caution in her voice, “Can you trust Maggie?”\n“Slow down, slow down,” laughed Sara. “No, I don’t know if I can trust Maggie at all, but for right now I have to play along. I want to get back into that room so that I can study those remains, and she has the key. As for them being legitimate, I just don’t know of any reason to fabricate all of that, only to keep it hid. Especially since it really does seem like the government is trying to destroy any evidence that Birthers ever existed.” Sam just shook her head in amazement. “What you’ve told me is utterly fantastic. You must come back and tell me more after you have seen it again.” “Oh, I will, I will,” said Sara. Then, opening up her notepad, she said, “In fact, I want to get your input on everything. I need you to tell me what I should be looking for in the first place.”\n\nAs soon as Sara said those words, she witnessed a complete metamorphosis in Sam. She sat up straight on the bed, no longer looking like the frail, aging woman who had been confined to a hospital room for so many years; she became the self-assured, competent intellectual Sara recalled from her early days in college. “Well, let me tell you where I was in my investigations, Sam said. The Birthers definitely carried and gave birth to the children. That was their primary role in the family. But they did much more than that. I’m convinced they also played an enormous role in maintaining the mental and physical health of society. Did you ever notice that, except for a few cases such as the drugs I was given, almost all of our medical treatment is mechanical in nature? That’s because the men are responsible for our medical care today. I think that in the past, the Birthers were the healers. They could heal with their touch and with their knowledge of plant and animal extracts. We’ve somehow lost these important links to medicine.” “But where did they go?” asked Sara. “Why don’t the Birth Chambers produce Birther children today?” A broad smile came over Sam’s face as she replied, “Ah, yes, the logical question to ask ourselves. Yet no one does. You see, the Chambers were designed to replace Birthers, not women.” Sara leaned back in her chair, turned her head, frowned and said, “What do you mean? What do women have to do with Birthers?” The professor tilted her head to match Sara’s, a wry smile on her face, and said, “You really don’t know anything about this, do you? I can see that the Council’s efforts to eradicate knowledge of Birthers have been very complete.” Sara was still looking puzzled as the professor continued, “We woman have become so absorbed in our work and activities that we don’t even care about our links to family or our children. It’s like we’re denying an essential piece of ourselves.” “What do you mean?” said Sara. “Think about it Sara,” replied Sam. “If children come from Birthers, and the chambers are the surrogate for Birthers, where must the Birthers come from?” Suddenly, as if Sam’s comments had poked it from dormancy, Sara could feel the tiny embryo inside her move. She involuntarily gasped, reaching down to her abdomen. Sam noticing her movement exclaimed, “Sara, are you pregnant?” Sara, shaking her head to come out of her revere replied, “Yes, I am.” “Ah,” exclaimed Sam. “Then you will be able to better understand why I think our leaders are trying to erase Birthers from our social memory. For you see, from my research I am sure that the only way for a Birther to be born is for a woman not to transfer the sprout, but rather to keep it within her own body and carry it full term to the actual birth.”\n\nSara blinked her eyes as she tried to comprehend what the professor had just said. Leaning forward she said, “Let me get this straight, if instead of planting this fertilized sprout within me right now, in the Chambers after two months, I kept it inside of me, in another six months I would give birth to a Birther child?” “It would be more like seven months, but yes that’s what I think,” said Sam.\n\nSuddenly the door to the room burst open and in walked two men, dressed all in white. They were followed by a woman in a long white coat, carrying a clipboard. The men stood on either side of the woman with their arms crossed. The woman said, “I’m sorry to burst in like this, Professor Yosser, but this visit was not authorized. I’m afraid that Sara is going to have to leave this instant.” As soon as the door had opened, Sara had risen and turned toward the three intruders. When the professor started to protest, Sara put a hand on her shoulder reassuringly and said, “That’s okay, Sam. I need to go anyway. I’ll talk to you again, very soon.” Sam stood and embraced Sara, whispering in her ear, “Be very careful. I’m sure that someone will be watching every move you make now.” “I will,” said Sara. “Take care of yourself.” And with that, she turned and walked out the door and down the hallway to the stairs.\n\n[[Continue|Knob]]

The Dry Season\n(BBC)\n\nThe morning air was perfectly still and little beads of sweat formed on Kerena’s back in the heat as she sat under the communal area awning and sharpened her weapon, carefully checking it for any cracks. This was the first lesson a new hunter learned. It would do no good to expend the energy to run down your prey, only to have your aawk break when you swung it. Kerena felt a dull rumble as her stomach reminded her that, cracked or not, her weapon had not found any prey for more than a week now. Even so, she still had not decided if the hunters were going out today. \nHer thoughts continued to wander. It was at this time every year that she began to think about moving the bunda closer to the lake. The dry season was fully upon them now, and many of the animals of the plain had already migrated there. The beautiful river that curved around the bunda had slowed to just a trickle and would not even supply enough water for the bunda. The dry season lasted three months, and it was always a challenge for the people to ration their store of water. \n\nLooking up from her weapon, Kerena gazed around the bunda. There was very little activity, even though the morning was well along. Most of the people were clustered in small groups, either here under the awning or in their huts. She noticed many of the other hunters close by, talking among themselves as they sharpened their weapons. They were as anxious about their recent lack of success as Kerena, and were surely questioning her decision to wait by now. Across the fire pit, on the other side of the large oval awning, she saw Pena holding her new daughter, born just two days ago. Kerena smiled as she watched her daughter suckle. She was beautiful. After two sons, it was nice to finally be blessed with a girl child. Pena was providing her first child extraordinary care, and because she was the daughter of the bunda leader, she got extra attention from everyone. I can’t wait to take her on a hunt, thought Kerena, if I’m around that long.\nMarthe was also on that side of the fire pit, and seeing her, Kerena’s mood shifted completely as waves of conflicting emotions washed over her. Marthe was quite large in the belly now, and didn’t move around much. Her time was very near, and Kerena felt a mix of guilt, sympathy, and a little fear for the woman. She bore tremendous physical and emotional burdens. Marthe had come to accept her responsibility for the death of a birther by leading the clar to the bunda, but as her time drew closer, her fear was mounting. Several times in the last week she had become hysterical, and it had taken frequent ministrations by the birthers to calm her. I hope it will be over for her soon, thought Kerena.\n\nThe sound of laughter drew her attention back to this side of the oval, down past the hunters. A large group of adolescent girls were joking and teasing each other, obviously frustrated by the heat. They wanted to play their games, but because the bunda was rationing water, they had to wait until dusk when it cooled down. One of the figures in the group looked over at Kerena, and seeing her looking on, slowly got up and started walking in her direction. It was Sar, one of the most promising young women of the bunda. Behind her, Kerena noticed that, even in this heat, several men were working to repair a section of the wall that was in the shade. The sight made her realize that the same thick walls of the bunda that kept them safe from the clar also rooted them here.\nAs Sar walked toward her, Kerena admired her long, thin form and the fluid gait of her long legs. She was perhaps the tallest in the bunda. Her dark hair was pulled back behind her long face, which wore a look of determination. As she drew near, she said, “May I talk with you, Kerena?”\n“Of course. Here, sit down with me,” she replied. “What is it that you want? You look so serious.”\nSar folded her long legs beneath her and knelt next to Kerena. Running her open hand across the top of her head, she grasped her long tail and pulled it over her right shoulder and said, “Are you going to hunt today?” Kerena smiled and said, “Why, Sar? Are you getting hungry?” \nSar’s lips curled up slightly at the sides, and she turned her head to watch her fingers combing nervously through her hair. “Well, a little. But that’s not the reason I’m asking. I’d like to request permission to go along.” “I see,” said Kerena, nodding her head in thought. \n\nAfter a moment of silence from Kerena, Sar said, “Well? What do you think?” “I think I admire your ambition, and I think you are ready, but I also think that your timing is lousy.” “What do you mean?” asked Sar. “I mean that because of the heat, I’m already thinking of taking a smaller hunting party, and if I have to leave hunters behind, it would not go over very well to take a new one along. Do you understand?” Sar hung her head, nodding slowly, and said, “Yes, I do.” \nSar started to get up to leave, but Kerena grabbed her arm and held her in place. “Wait. I want your opinion about something.” Sar lifted her head and tried to conceal her amazement at the bunda leader asking for her opinion. Kerena paused a moment, should I be sharing such a serious topic with a young one, she thought. Why am I asking her and not one of the elders? Sar stood waiting for Kerena to speak, a quizzical expression on her face. Finally Kerena said, “Sar, please sit down again.” The young woman sat down, crossing her long legs and Kerena continued, “I’ve been thinking about moving the bunda closer to the lake. If we are going to move, this is the time to do it. The clar usually follow the other creatures to the lake, and we should be safe from them until we get closer to it. The journey would probably take about ten days, with the children and Birthers along.” Sar’s face quickly changed to a broad smile and she was having trouble concealing her excitement as she interrupted. “I think we should go. Just think! We’d always have water and plentiful game, and we wouldn’t have to sit here all day just to conserve water. We could play our games whenever we wanted. It would be great!” “Now wait a minute, Sar. You’ve told me the good reasons for going, but you’ve got to think of the bad side of it, too. Some of our people will probably die along the way, even if we don’t run into clar. And if we do—well, we could lose our Birthers, and a lot of our people, too.” “I didn’t think about that,” said Sar. “And there’s more,” said Kerena. “There’s also the problem of the Lakers. You don’t know about them because it was before your time, but our people have had vicious wars with the Laker people in the past. Back when both bundas hunted larger territory. They would come up here to the plains to chase bounder, and we sometimes got too close to the lake on hunting expeditions. One time, a huge band of their hunters trailed ours all the way here to the bunda and attacked the walls for days. I think that they wanted to wipe out the entire bunda and steal our Birthers, but they could never get over the walls. It was actually the dry season that drove them back to the lake.” Sar now had a worried look on her face as she asked, “Well, then, why haven’t they attacked recently?” “I don’t know,” said Kerena. “Maybe there’ve been enough bounder close to the lake and they didn’t have to come up this far. Or maybe they lost too many people going home from that last raid. There’s also the possibility that they no longer exist. I don’t think they built walls around their bunda, and they could have gotten wiped out by the clar. I don’t know why, but you must always remember that there is a possibility of them attacking again. It’s just another reason the walls are so important.” \nSar nodded her head and said, “Wow, I’m glad you told me. The decision seemed so easy before. I’m not so sure now. Maybe it is best to stay. At least the dry season only lasts three months. We might be fighting the Lakers all the time if we go down there.” \n\nKerena smiled and reached across to lay her hand on Sar’s shoulder. “Now you can see why being the bunda leader can be so hard. Making decisions is both the most difficult and the most important responsibility, because if I decide wrong, it could be the end of the bunda.” “Is that why you were so angry with Marthe?” asked Sar. Upon hearing the question, Kerena looked across the fire pit and felt the sadness return as she replied, “Yes. Marthe made a very bad decision at that time, and she didn’t even know it. A leader must always be thinking of the outcome of her decisions.” Sar turned to stare at Marthe, and Kerena could see that the lesson had sunk in very quickly. Kerena squeezed Sar’s shoulder and said, “You are a quick learner, Sar. I am glad that you will be here to help out while I am hunting. Do not worry. I promise that you will be in the hunting party as soon as the rains return.” Sar smiled from ear to ear as the two women stood and she turned to go. But Kerena grabbed her by the arm once again and said, “Do not tell this to any of the other girls, Sar. If you do, I will be pestered day and night by them following your example. If that happens, I will have to withdraw my promise to also set an example. Do you understand?” Sar set her jaw and nodded, but Kerena could see a faint smile on her face as she turned and headed back toward the others. Kerena walked over to tell her hunters that they were going out. But they would wait until late afternoon and stay close to the river.\n\n[[Continue|Homeless]]

Rivertown\n(ABC)\n\nAs she drove through the tall wooden gates and into town, Maggie was more than just slightly annoyed. She was a person who liked to keep everything to a schedule. That was the only way she could balance her life as curator of the Museum of the Past for the whole planet of Ternary, play lavalina, and even hope to have a family. Everyone she knew who had children had such problems with them. Well, she was not going to let that happen to her and Dale. Things were just going to have to be done on schedule and they would be fine. And Dale was going to have to help out too. He wasn’t going to be able to spend the whole day at his job as the Rivertown chief engineer and then half the night planning new projects, coming home whenever he pleased. She also didn’t understand why the actual time of birth had to be so inexact in this day and age. They really had not changed the design and operation of the Birth Chambers for hundreds of years. Surely modifications could have been made. Men were just too plodding and driven by tradition to change something that worked well and no one complained about.\n\nMaggie concentrated more on her driving, now that she was in town. The streets were laid out in even grids, but the buildings were very similar. Many were built of light-colored brick, with large windows overlooking the street. Every so often, she would pass an older wooden building, one that had survived the numerous fires that ravaged the city. Maggie loved the look of those old buildings, with their deep-brown vertical slats and small, heavy windows. Turning a corner to head closer to the center of town, Maggie passed a building that had a long line of windows at street level, and she could see her green carriage’s reflection click by in each as she drove past. She also caught the odor of meat as she saw her reflection disappear into the rock wall of the next building, and it reminded her of how hungry she was. \n\nWith one hand on the wheel, Maggie began digging through the large bag beside her on the seat. It held her lavalina stick and pads, and usually some dried meat for her to snack on after practice. Just as she located a small piece in the bag and flicked her eyes back toward the street, there was a sudden blur of movement in front of her car. Two bodies rolled into the street in front of her, locked together. They tumbled back and forth, limbs thrashing and grabbing, each seeking the other’s throat. Damn, she thought as she slammed on the brakes, not now! \n\nShe brought the carriage to a stop and, looking around, saw that she was on the fringes of a large street fight. Perhaps twenty or so women and men where flailing at one another just outside a game hall. Obviously others were fighting inside the building, because once in a while objects flew through a broken window. All of a sudden the two in front of her car slammed against the hood, as the taller of the two women had gained an advantage and was now choking the other on top of Maggie’s car. Maggie leaned on the horn, but when that failed to stop the choking, she started to drive forward slowly. Finally the women with the advantage let go and the other slumped to the ground. The larger woman moved to the side of the car and stood glaring at Maggie. Her long dark hair was coarse and unruly. She wore black pants and a black leather vest, chains hanging between her small breasts. Her nose was twisted in the center and looked as if it had been broken several times. She started to come around to Maggie’s door, screaming, “You stay the mret out of this, you digger. I’ll teach you to interfere like that.” \n\nMaggie quickly killed the engine and opened the car door. She was leaning to the side, one leg in the street, when the woman delivered a savage kick to the door, causing it to bang Maggie in the shoulder. Feeling a slight stab of pain in her shoulder, Maggie’s anger surged. She reached over to her bag on the seat and, in one fluid motion , pulled her lavalina stick out and spun around to face her attacker, stick held in front of her. \n\nThe other woman was already charging, coming in a crouch. Maggie tried to step aside, but the woman tackled her to the ground. Quickly Maggie threw her off, jumping back up, and as her opponent was lifting herself up, she swung her stick hard at the women’s knee. The woman screamed as she crumpled to the ground on her side. She lay there for a moment clutching her knee as Maggie stood back, her chest heaving in adrenaline-induced gasps. The woman slowly got to her feet and faced Maggie. She started to advance, limping noticeably, but stopped about two feet away and stared into Maggie’s face, blinking several times. A look of recognition came over her face as she said, “You’re Maggie of the Jazelles, aren’t you?” Maggie just stared back, not moving. The women stared a moment longer, a look of respect coming over her face as her shoulders slumped slightly. She started to say something, stopped, then turned and limped down the street, away from the fighting.\n\nMaggie walked around to the front of the car carrying her stick. The other woman was on her hands and knees, head down, taking short, gasping breaths. Maggie stood in front of her, leaning slightly on her stick, and asked, “Are you all right?” The woman’s head was bent over, and her light-brown hair, which fell just to her shoulders, covered her face and the hand she held at her throat. She was dressed in black pants and a loose-fitting, light-blue sweater. Slowly she lifted her head slightly to look up at Maggie, and then nodded. In the distance Maggie could hear the sirens of the riot wagons coming. She walked over to the woman, bent over and grabbed one arm, and helped her to her feet. The woman looked vaguely familiar. She was shorter and heavier than most, and her breasts were noticeable. Maggie heard the sirens again, but much closer now. Looking up, she could see flashing red lights bouncing between buildings on the cross street. Quickly she helped the woman into the passenger side of her carriage and ran around to hop in herself.\n\nJust as Maggie closed her own car door, a dark-gray van began inching its way past. A woman in a black helmet and heavily padded gray overalls was leaning out the side door, holding on with her right hand. In her left she held a long black stick. A thick wire ran from the stick to a large pack on her back. Up ahead, a woman with black hair tied in a long ponytail had just thrown a man to the ground and was kicking him in the back as he lay curled in the street. As the van drew even with the woman, the helmeted figure touched the stick to the kicker’s rump, and she collapsed to the ground, as if thrown there. The back doors of the van flew open and two helmeted and padded figures got out, grabbed the body of the stunned woman, and threw her into the van. They then helped the man to his feet, sent him on his way, and continued to follow the van as it slowly began making its way forward again.\n\nWatching the scene unfold before her through the windshield, like images on the news at night, Maggie shook her head. She didn’t understand the violence. It seemed as if it could erupt at any time, any place. These fights were all too common, and it seemed as if the murder rate was going through the sky. How soon before the Birth Chambers could no longer keep up? Turning to the woman who sat beside her, she said, “Well, what am I going to do with you?” The woman, still rubbing her throat with one hand, turned to Maggie and offered her the other. “I’m Casey,” she said, “and I’m really glad you came along.” Taking the offered hand in hers, Maggie noticed that the woman did not have a very firm handshake. Perhaps she was still weak from the fight. Maggie replied, “I’m Maggie Runer, and, no offense, but you don’t seem the type to be involved in something like this.” “No, you’re right,” the woman said. “I usually don’t even go into bars, but tonight for some reason I decided to stop for a drink on my way home from the Chambers.” \n“You work at the Birth Chambers?” Maggie asked. “Yes, I’m a doctor there. I look after the health of every newborn.” “Well, I’m on my way there right now to pick up my daughter,” said Maggie. \nCasey tilted her head as she looked at Maggie for a moment. “Runer . . . yes, I thought that name sounded familiar. You’re the museum director who’s around the Chambers so much. You’re also a lavalina player. Your daughter’s name is Melissa. She’s really beautiful, and in perfect health. I tell you what. Let me ride with you back to the Chambers and I’ll make sure you get expedited through the release process.” “That would be great,” said Maggie. “I was in quite a hurry before all of this happened.” “Well, then,” said Casey, “it’s the least I can do. Let’s go. We can cut past this mess if we go down two more streets and then turn left.” Saying no more, Maggie started the carriage, put it in gear, and with a last glance at the riot wagon, headed down the street to the [[Chambers|Birth Chambers]].\n

"Okay, that's it for today," yelled Denise, the lavalina coach, from the far side of the field. "Let's gather around." Denise stood with her right hand on one end of a lavalina stick, the other end of which was resting on the ground. She moved the stick back and forth for emphasis as she spoke to the team, "I want you all to rest up for the game this weekend, so we're taking the next two days off. Get lots of rest and eat plenty of bounder meat, and don't do anything stupid to get injured. We've got to be ready for the Slayers. We're tied with them for first place, and we'll probably be seeing them in the playoffs, so I want to establish our dominance with this game. Let's all show up two hours before the game to get warmed up. Any questions?" she asked, looking each player in the eye. Getting nothing but a few head shakes, she raised the stick and pointed toward the field house. "Okay, then, let's hit the showers."\n\nMaggie was talking to several of her teammates as they walked off the playing field when an attendant came up to her and said, "Excuse me, M. Runer, we just got a call from the Chambers. Your daughter has been born and you are to pick her up right away." "Whoa! Congratulations Maggie," yelled one of her teammates. "I didn't even know you were expecting."\n\n"Well, I've been trying to keep it kind of quiet," smiled Maggie, "but I've really been looking forward to this. Thanks for the news," she said to the attendant.\n\nAs they walked toward the field house, another teammate winked at Maggie and said, "So, I suppose she'll have her first lavalina stick before she can walk, and we'll have another champion on the field by the time she's a teenager." Maggie shrugged the compliment aside and said, "Nah, I think I'll just wait and see how soon she asks for one. I don't want any competition for a while." That brought a burst of laughter as they filed through the [[door|The Showers]].\n

Death For Life\n(ABC)\n\nSara sat next to Jacob on one of the log benches that stood in front of the small hut and looked over at Casey, who sat on the other. Maggie stood behind Casey, leaning on the back of the bench and gazing out toward the edge of the clearing at the entrance to the path. The last light of the day was fading over the hill behind the hut and the clearing took on a soft glow as small insects filled the air. Off in the distance Sara could hear a male ground bird drumming: thump, thump-thump, thump-thump-thump-thump. “I wish you’d let us bring you back to the Chambers,” said Casey. “We have the proper medical facilities there, and you’d be more comfortable.” “I’m comfortable here, and I don’t think medical facilities are necessary,” she replied. “Besides, I think that it would be inappropriate for a Birther to be born in the place that caused them to be unnecessary.” \n\nMaggie spoke up then, still keeping her eyes on the entrance to the clearing. “She’s probably safer here, Casey. As for medical facilities, you brought your medical bag didn’t you?” Sara looked up at Maggie and stared for a moment before saying, “You know I still can’t get used to the idea that you are actually my protector. When I saw you start to walk toward Jacob, after dealing with Selene, I was sure that you meant to kill us all. Even after you helped him to his feet and Casey came out of the woods, I still wasn’t sure I was safe.” Maggie looked over at her and asked, “Why did you think that I was your enemy?” “It always felt like you were against me. Even in my dreams you were the bad one—although my dream about the knife was only half right.” Jacob spoke up, “Which dream was that?” “I didn’t tell you about it. I had it the first day we were here. Remember when you found me on the rock by the stream? In that dream, it was Maggie rather than Selene who came at me with a knife. I was underwater, and she swam up and sliced my stomach open and the Birther swam out.” Casey gasped and said, “I’m glad that dream didn’t come true!” Sara glanced over at her face, now half in shadow, before replying. “Well, I thought it was going to when I saw Selene coming at me.” \n\nMaggie cleared her throat and said, “It’s getting dark. I think we’d better get ready for the night. Jacob, would you and Casey get the supplies from the car while I stay here with Sara?” Sara tensed a little as Jacob rose and he and Casey walked off across the clearing. Sara watched as Maggie piled small sticks in the fire pit and then stacked larger pieces of wood in a pyramid over the top. She turned her head toward Sara and said, “You’re awfully quiet. Are you still afraid of me?” Sara smiled a little and said, “No, I think I’m in awe of you Maggie. You’re kind of an amazing individual. After watching you in action today, I’m actually starting to feel quite safe.” \nMaggie now smiled too and said, “Well, I’ve got news for you. I’m in awe of you.” “Oh, really? Why is that?” “Because, you’ve got both the courage and conviction to go through with this, even if it means giving up your life; I don’t think I could do it.” \n\nSara sat deep in thought for a while and then said, “Why are you helping me? Aren’t you jeopardizing your job and your position with the government?” “I hope not, although that could happen. Selene obviously worked for the Council also, and they may be expecting a report from her. No, Sara, I’m prepared to lose my job and my position within the government. This is too important. I’m going to work against the Council on this. I need to see that you succeed in bringing a Birther into this world. As a matter of fact, I somehow need to convince more women to do what you’re doing. The future of our race depends on it. I believe that we are in an unhealthy decline that can only be stopped by Birthers. I’ve studied everything I could find on them for years now. In my position, I’ve had access to documents that most people don’t even know exist, not even the High Council. So much has been written about Birthers that not even the widespread purging by the Council could eradicate it all.” \n\nAs Maggie lit a match and touched it to the dry tinder at the bottom of the fire pit, Sara asked, “Why doesn’t the High Council want anyone to know about Birthers?” Maggie, leaning back in a crouch and watching the orange and red flames rise up through the pyramid of wood dancing above them, replied, “So they don’t have to die.” “What?” said Sara. \n\nMaggie sat on the ground, crossed her long legs in front of her and replied, “This all started over two hundred years ago, because the people who make the rules decided that they didn’t want to die. That’s the problem with people in power, Sara. Once they have it, they don’t want to give it up. The more they have, the greater they clutch at it to hold onto it. You see, the traditional life of the bunda called for the leaders to take on the responsibility of producing a Birther, except in special cases where it was used as punishment.” Sara nodded and said, “Yeah that makes sense. Leaders have the power to make the rules. So when they get in a position of power, they change them to make sure they can stay there. It sounds to me like the old way ensured that there wouldn’t be an abuse of power, because along with the privilege of the position went the responsibility of serving the people.” “Exactly,” replied Maggie. “And it always provided fresh, new ideas. Our leaders are old and inflexible in their ways. As the head goes, so goes the body. There’s another part to it also. Did you know that Birthers have healing powers, both physical and emotional?” “That means you won’t need doctors like me, then,” said Casey as she appeared in the circle of light cast by the flames of the fire, carrying a large black bag. “Or friends like me,” said Jacob, as he walked into the ring of light and over to one of the benches to put down the boxes he was carrying. Maggie smiled and said, “Ah, you see we’ve had to compensate for their absence. Birthers are Ternians just like us, so we each have some of their capabilities and traits within us. We just don’t do it as well as they can. The Birthers could actually relieve physical and emotional pain just by touching you. And there seems to be evidence that their touch actually accelerated the healing of bones and wounds.” “If that’s true, it would be amazing,” said Casey. “We could use about a dozen at the hospital in town.” \n\nThis comment brought Maggie to her feet. “Oh?” she said. “Well, we’ll just go get a dozen women to give up their lives like Sara, then, Casey. Do you want to volunteer, too?” Casey’s jaw fell open, and she stared at Maggie for a moment, and then stole a glance at Sara before catching herself. “Ah . . . I don’t know if I could do what Sara’s doing, Maggie.” Then turning toward Sara, she said, “I think you’re the bravest woman I know. I don’t think we could find a dozen women in the entire city to do this. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to trivialize what you’re doing. It must be very scary for you.” Sara just stared at Casey. She couldn’t think of anything to say. Finally Jacob walked over, put his arm around her, and said, “Is anyone hungry?”\n\nSara sat on the ground with her back against one of the log benches and watched the insects dance with the flames of the fire. Casey and Jacob were clearing the remains of the dinner they had made, and Maggie had gone off to “check the perimeter.” They had tried to discuss other topics during dinner, but Birthers seemed to be the subject foremost in all of their minds. Sara, feeling warm and comfortable realized that she was actually feeling like she was ready for this. It was nice to have so much support around her. She was just wondering how long the four of them were going to have to wait out here, when she felt a sharp blow to her stomach, as if someone had punched her. “Oh, no,” she managed to gasp before she bent over and threw up her dinner. \n\nSuddenly she was gripped by a fear so great she felt her bladder empty. Casey and Jacob came running over, and she heard Casey tell Jacob to get her inside the hut. She felt Jacob lift her in his arms, and at that instant there was a pain in her stomach so great that she screamed at the top of her lungs and arched her back to try and relieve it. As Jacob adjusted himself to keep from dropping her it stopped just as suddenly, and she relaxed back into his arms. “I’m not ready for this, Jacob,” she said, gazing into his tear-filled eyes as he carried her inside the dark hut and placed her on the blankets near the back. Taking her hand in his, he said, “I’m not ready, either. I wish I could do something. How bad is the pain?” “It’s almost unbearable, Jacob. I wish I knew how long this was going to last.” \n\nThere was a soft yellow light in the doorway as Casey walked in, a lantern in one hand and her black bag in the other. Setting the lantern on the table, she walked over to stand beside Jacob and said, “I have no experience with this. I’m afraid I’m probably going to be useless.” “Can’t you give her something for the pain?” asked Jacob. “I have something, but I don’t know what it will do to the baby,” said Casey. “It might make matters worse. Let’s take off her shirt. I want to examine her belly.”\n\nHer mind dulled by fear and pain, Sara barely noticed Casey running her hand down the ridge of her swollen stomach or Maggie rushing through the door to ask, “Has it started?” No one spoke, but she was vaguely aware of Jacob nodding his head beside her. Suddenly she felt something push on her spine and, at the same time, a stabbing pain just below her rib cage. She let out a shriek followed by a protracted scream as she arched her back so far off the bed that her head was the only part of her upper body still in contact with it. When at last it stopped, she fell back on the bed wailing, “I don’t want to do this anymore! I’ve changed my mind! Get this thing out of me right now!” Then she felt an incredible pain in her abdomen, and she screamed as a brilliant white light flashed in her mind and she sank beneath the water.\n\n[[Continue|Dawn]]\n

The Woods\n(ABC)\n\nSara didn’t know where Jacob was headed, but he seemed to have something in mind. She didn’t ask. She hadn’t said more than a few words since the attack a couple of hours earlier, and Jacob had been just as quiet. They had agreed that they couldn’t return home, and that going to someone else’s was out of the question. Although Sara believed Maggie was behind this, she didn’t trust anyone except Jacob right now. They had stopped at a store before getting out of town and bought food, water, and blankets. They would worry about clothes later. Luckily hers were brand new.\n\nSara leaned her head against the carriage window and stared out. Her eyes were focused on the mountains in the distance as the tall grass of the nearby plains moved by in a bronze blur at the lower edge of her vision. She now realized that the fanatical attack in the clothing store was not necessarily meant to kill her, but rather was an attempt to take her child’s life. Reaching down, she gently stroked her oblong belly and closed her eyes. She was now in her seventh month of pregnancy—farther than any woman had ever made it, as far as she knew—and was exploring unknown territory. She felt fine, other than the pressure on her ribs and being a little weak now and then. As she examined her feelings, she realized that the birth of this child was now so important to her that she no longer cared if it cost her life. She just wanted this child to be born and to survive. \n\nBut as she thought about it more, she grew sadder and sadder. She now accepted the theory that the only way this child was getting out of her body was to cut its way out. She felt strangely at peace with this. She didn’t know why however. Jacob said that the baby was releasing liquids in her body that calmed her, but what he didn’t know was that she actually cared less and less about surviving. Maybe Jacob’s right, she thought. I seem to be resigning myself to the fact that I’m not going to be around after this child is born. Then it hit her, who was going to take care of her child? Who would raise it? Jacob would be a good father, but it would never know its mother. And how will Jacob know what to do? What would he feed it? Oh, Jazelle, she thought, I might never get to see its face. I’ll never get to hold it or see it grow older, or take its first step, or say its first word. Suddenly she began to cry, tears sliding silently down her face, one after another, until twin streams fell from her chin. When she felt Jacob put his hand on her leg and gently squeeze it, she broke down completely, sobs wracking her entire body. Jacob reached over and pulled her to his side, and putting his arm around her, he drove on quietly as she let her sorrow flow.\n\nFinally Sara’s tears subsided, and she wiped her face with her already wet sleeve. Looking up, she saw the eastern mountains towering above them. They had just entered a large forest that lay at the base of the range and were starting to climb. After they had driven a little farther, she noticed that they were approaching a dirt road on the right that curved into the woods out of sight. Jacob turned onto it, and they followed it until they came to a clearing and stopped by the edge of the forest. \n\nJacob shut off the engine and Sara opened the car door, climbed out, and stood staring off into the woods. It was a very old conifer forest, and although there were very few branches on the bottoms of the trees, the tall, deep green trees grew together so tightly that it was difficult to see anything in the darkness below. \n\nOff to her left she saw a path of light green grass that led into the heart of the woods, lit by thin shafts of light that filtered through the boughs above. She turned and closed the car door. It made a loud bang that seemed to echo through the trees forever. Standing there beside the car, with her hands resting on her belly, she could feel the cool breeze ruffle lightly through her hair. In the distance she could hear the rushing of water. Closing her eyes, she inhaled so deeply it made her chest hurt; the baby within stirred slightly. Slowing letting the air out of her lungs, she could feel some of the troubles of her mind and the aches of her body drift out of her and be carried away by the breeze. Opening her eyes, Sara set off down the path. As she followed it into the woods, she looked down to see small violet and yellow flowers growing wherever the shafts of light touched the ground. Making her way farther into the forest, she noticed that it was completely still under the massive trees. Again she heard the sound of water, which seemed to come from somewhere deep in the woods. For a brief moment, an image drifted into her mind and came into focus with the one that lay before her. She smiled as she realized why. Listening to the rippling of the water with a new intensity, she almost thought she could hear the sound of children’s voices. \nStepping off the path, she started to make her way through the woods toward the sound. It was very dark, and as her eyes adjusted to the change, the sunlight glinting through the branches caused her to blink and brought on another powerful memory. This place was safe. This place was very old and felt powerful and right. Somehow Jacob had known to get her here. She didn’t know how, but that didn’t matter now. \n\nHer feet made no sound as she walked on the soft carpet of pine needles and the scent of them filled her head. Although she felt safe, she could sense some strangeness here; the air was almost crackling. Her heart beat a little faster as she ventured on, and as if to reassure herself of the reality of it all, she lightly brushed her hands along the rough, sticky, bark of the trees as she went. She could hear the sound of the rushing water getting closer. \n\nDrawing near to the bank, she looked down the long slope and saw the dark water tumbling and splashing around large rocks. There along the bank below she could see several large, flat rocks basking in the sun. Slowly she made her way down the soft bank to them. Sitting down where two rock faces came together and resting her back against the larger, she tilted her head back and felt the warm sun on her face and body. Lulled by the sound of the rushing water, she closed her eyes, turned her head to the side, and crossing her legs up under her, she drifted into a deep sleep… The water gently bubbled around her as she sank into the river. She didn’t panic as it rose above her mouth and then her nose. As it covered her eyes, she bent her head to look down at herself and saw her naked, bulging belly framed by her small breasts. She felt light and free, and turned to the side and swam through the crystal clear water, gazing down at the rocks, pebbles, and plants below. A shadow crossed her face, and looking up, she saw a school of large fish swimming in front of her. As she gained on the formation, it parted and reformed on either side of her. She could almost feel the pulses of water from each swish of their tails as they swam on, the water growing deeper and darker as they went. Turning to avoid a large rock, the school swam around it and came to a deep ravine that disappeared in the darkness below. Suddenly Sara felt the fish come to a stop and then, seconds later, scatter in all directions. Spinning around, she tried to find what had frightened them but could see nothing. Tilting her body, her feet straight out behind her, she peered down into the abyss below. \nA feeling of dread washed over her as she watched a long, dark shape moving swiftly up out of the depths toward her. As it grew closer, the sun from above glinted off a small silver object in front. A voice in Sara’s mind cried “It’s a knife!” In a panic, she swam back toward the large rock above, sensing the dark presence drawing closer behind her. She was almost to the rock safety of the bank when she sensed the pursuer was upon her. Turning, she saw Maggie’s face coming directly at her, and beneath it a long-bladed knife cutting through the water. Both hands against the rock, frozen in place and unable to move, she screamed “Nooo!” as Maggie swam by and, with a quick slash, cut a line across Sara’s abdomen. Staring down in horror, Sara saw the back of the baby’s head emerge, cutting blade extended. The saw-blade back and buttocks quickly followed as it swam out into the water, trailing an umbilical cord. When the cord grew taut, the baby turned, and Sara gasped as it opened its mouth to expose rows of small, triangular teeth. Sara shook her head from side to side in disbelief as the child started to swim toward her, an awful grimace on its tiny face. As she was about to move her arm up to block the oncoming baby, she heard a muffled voice from above the water calling her name. Suddenly she felt the rock behind her reach around and envelope her in a vice-like grip. Unimpeded, the baby swam directly toward her neck, and as she felt it sink its teeth into her flesh, she screamed.\n\nShe woke in a sweat. Jacob was behind her, holding on tightly, calling her name over and over. Finally realizing where she was, she looked down at her still swollen stomach and said, “I’m all right, Jacob.” “You really scared me,” he said. “The way you were thrashing around and screaming, I thought you were having the baby.” “In a way, I was,” she replied, and turned to hug herself to him, wondering what they were going to do now. As he held her, Jacob said, “I found a place for us to stay.” Pulling away to look up at him, she said, “You did! Where is it?” “Not too far from here. It’s just a shack, but it doesn’t look like anyone is using it. It will do for now, until we figure out something else.” “I bet it will be all we need,” said Sara. “Well, let’s spend the night there and see how it feels,” he said. “If you think it will work out, then I should go back and get our clothes and some supplies.” “You can’t go back home, Jacob. I’m sure someone will be watching the house all the time, and they’ll follow you back here.” Jacob remained quiet for a moment and then said, “I think we have to trust Casey. We need to find out what’s going on, and she knows Maggie. She could even get our things from home.” “I don’t think we should trust her, Jacob. She’s much too dedicated to Maggie. She told me that Maggie saved her life in a street fight.”\n“Well, then, what about Selene? She’s got a big, opinionated mouth, but she was your friend at one time.” Sara thought for a moment, and then said, “Well, probably better her than Maggie or Casey but I really don’t want you to go at all. Why can’t we just buy what we need?” “We could, but I’d still have to get money from the house to do that; which means that unless I sneak into the house, I still need someone else’s help.” \n\nSara pulled back from Jacob’s arms and stood up, brushing dirt and twigs from her tunic. She was very tired and very hungry, and there was irritation in her voice as she said, “I don’t know, Jacob. Let’s talk about it after we get to this shack of yours.” Getting to his feet, Jacob grabbed her hand, and they climbed the river bank and headed off into the woods.\n\n[[Continue|Quandary]]

The Promise\n(BBC)\n\nKerena watched as the light from the flickering flames of the fire danced across the red-brown sand of the clearing. Sparks from the fire flew up into the dark, star-filled sky, and she bade silent greetings to her ancestors there. Her people had just finished a sparse meal, and she knew that everyone was still hungry. Those with sharp eyes had spotted the large lake on the horizon this afternoon, and some had wanted to keep going through the night, but Kerena had realized that many were very tired and needed food and rest, so she had ordered that camp be made here. She hoped that the hunting would improve the closer they got to the lake.\n\nThis was the fifth day of their journey, and supplies were getting low. Things had gone well so far, though. They had made it this far without any major problems, although a few were having a hard time, particularly the very old and the very young. The people had followed her from the old bunda through the burned-out plains, right past the ridge of rocks where the lightning had formed. It was amazing to see the straight line it had cut through the grass. The wind had been so strong that nothing had been burned south of that line. The going had been much easier through the burned area however. Getting through the shoulder-high grass was difficult for the birthers and children, and it made pulling the travois tricky. Travel was slow. The children could only walk so fast and so far without a break. They didn’t have enough travois for all of them to ride, so they had to take turns. \n\nKerena looked up from the flames and watched the hunched-over figure of Fanta slowly hobble across the clearing to check on Sar. The light from the fire made her white hair seem to glow. Kerena shook her head in amazement that the old Birther was still able to keep going. She had to force Fanta to ride in a travois today because she kept falling so far behind the main group. Fanta hadn’t wanted to ride, though, and Kerena finally had to have two men pick her up and put her in the travois. \n\nShe watched now as Fanta made it over to where Sar was sitting. Sar looked up and smiled at her as Fanta motioned for her to stand and turn around. Fanta then carefully lifted the shirt she was wearing to check the burns on her back. Sar was obviously still in some pain, but her face grew calm as the old birther traced the burn scars with her hands. As Fanta dropped the shirt back in place, Sar turned and smiled at her, then reached up to clasp the hand that now rested on her shoulder. Fanta smiled back at Sar and then, as Kerena watched, crumpled to the ground as Sar tried to hold her up. \n\nKerena rushed across the clearing, helping Sar roll Fanta on her back and said, “Go get one of the other birthers Sar.” Kneeling, Kerena gently cradled Fanta’s head in her lap. The birther’s wrinkled face seemed to shine, haloed in the orange, white light from the fire, as she smiled up at Kerena. Slowly, painfully, she reached her hand over and laid it on Kerena’s stomach, pushing lightly. Kerena knew what Fanta meant. Staring into Fanta’s eyes, her own starting to glisten with tears, she nodded her head and said, “I will, Fanta, I promise.” \nAs soon as Kerena finished speaking, Fanta’s head slumped back on her neck and her arm fell limply to her side. Kerena could feel the heat slowly leaving the body as Fanta’s life ebbed away. Looking up, she noticed that everyone had gathered around, and some were quietly crying. Two Birther’s pushed through the crowd and knelt on the other side of Fanta, placing their hands on the shriveled body. \n\nTeros came up behind Kerena, leaned over and put his hand on her shoulder. Kerena reached up and put her hand on his for a moment, and then looked back down at Fanta. Gently she eased the birther’s head to the ground and stood up. Turning to Teros she placed one hand behind his neck and pulled his forehead to hers and said, “I need you help Teros.” Then, taking him by the hand, she walked over to grab an animal skin, and then led him off into the night.\n\n[[Continue|Kerena Dream]]

Homeless\n(BBC)\n\nKerena made her way downriver from the bunda so that the wind was in her face. It was hot and dry causing her hair to crackle when she ran her fingers through it. The sky was clear except for a few long streaks of white. She and a few of the best hunters from the bunda were following the nearly dry riverbed, and Kerena found herself wishing for the sound of rushing water to help cover all the noise they were making, moving through the dry brush. They had been walking for some time now, and Kerena was going to have them turn around if they didn’t see something soon. Maybe things would improve once they got onto that rocky ridge up ahead.\n\nThey were climbing single file up the face of a ridge of yellow and orange stone that would bring them to the top of a ravine. The water normally rushed through the ravine below in a torrent, but it was just a foot-wide ribbon now. Kerena gained the top first and turned to look out over the plain. As far as the eye could see, everything was brown or tan, and there were no herds in sight. At other times during the year, she would climb this rise and see hundreds of animals dotting the plain below. The other hunters had now reached the top of the cliff, the party automatically spreading out to survey in all directions. There were ten of them, probably more than would be needed, but it was hard on those hunters who had to stay behind. Kerena was turning to check in with the others when she noticed that the hair on her arms felt strange. Looking down at her arm she saw that it was standing straight on end and then she heard a loud crackling sound in her ears. Suddenly there was a brilliant flash of light and a deafening boom.\n\nKerena lifted her head, groaning softly. She was flat on the ground and trying to figure out what had happened. As she shook her head to clear it and looked around, she could see that all of the others were also down. Her body ached and her mouth felt dry. As she climbed to her feet, Kerena called to the others to report in. Slowly they sat up or got to their feet and called out their names. Everyone reported in except Banula. “Over here!” cried Maire. \n\nAs the others stood up and gathered around, Kerena looked in the direction Maire was pointing. There was Banula crumpled in a heap at the base of a large, red rock. Her hair was singed and her skin was a dark red, as if she had been in a fire. Her face was contorted in a horrible grimace. The skin on her right arm was completely burned off, and her aawk had been thrown a distance away. “What happened, Kerena?” said Maire. “I don’t know,” replied Kerena, “although it sounded like lightning. I know I saw the flash of light. “I certainly heard the boom,” said another, as everyone nodded their heads in unison. \n\n“I saw it all,” said a voice behind them. They turned to look at Neela, who stared straight ahead with glassy eyes and told them in a hushed voice. “I was still coming up the side of the cliff when I heard a crackling noise. As I looked over the edge, I saw a glowing red and yellow ball streak from the top of that rock, down past Banula and over the side there, toward the plain. It was so bright that I was blinded. By the time I could see again, you were all on the ground and Kerena was calling to us.” \nMaire walked over to the spot where Neela said the ball had gone over and cried out, “Look! It went down the cliff here.” Kerena walked over and saw the scorched trail that ran down the side of the rocky hill, straight into the plain. She also saw, and smelled, something much more disturbing. The plain was now on fire. A line of bright-red flames danced and leaped in the air below, sending up billows of thick gray smoke that was starting to fill the sky. Kerena turned and cried, “We must go quickly! It’s headed straight toward the bunda!”\n\nKerena, carrying the Banula’s limp body, was moving as quickly as she could from rock to rock, following the dry, cream-colored riverbed back to the bunda, when she heard one of her hunters cry out behind her. Turning, she saw Neela and Maire, one at each elbow, helping Lizra back to her feet. There was a cut on her left knee, and she was rubbing her forearm. “You’ve got to slow down, Kerena,” yelled Maave, one of her strongest hunters. “It’s not easy running across these rocks.” “We’ve got to get back to the bunda as quickly as we can,” replied Kerena. “The fire was heading straight for them, and they’ll need our help.”\n \nMaire now spoke up. “We won’t be of any use to the bunda if we’re all injured by the time we get there. We can’t keep going at this pace if we’re going to stay in the riverbed.” Kerena took a deep breath and nodded. Turning to Lizra she said, “Are you all right?” “I don’t know,” was the reply. “My ankle turned when that rock moved.” Slowly she took a step with Neela and Maire’s help and then winced and groaned deeply. “I don’t think I’ll be moving very quickly at all. Keep going without me. I’ll make it there eventually.” \n\nKerena bit her lip for a moment and then said, “Maire’s right. We can’t afford more injuries. Neela and Maire, stay with Lizra and help her walk. We’ll move to the far bank and see if we can find a trail. It looks like the fire hasn’t jumped the riverbed yet. Maybe it won’t further upriver, either.”\n\nBack at the Bunda, Sar was leaning against the outside wall and could feel the coolness of the bare wood wall against her sweat-covered back as she watched the young girls run across the playing field. After the older girls had completed their game, they had begun teaching the younger ones how to play. The sun was low on the horizon, and she watched the long shadows that stretched to the broad riverbed. The playing field was outside the north wall of the bunda, which was about twenty leaps from the river. The river took a large bend to the east here, before turning south again. The bunda was situated so that the north and east walls were parallel to the river as it seemed to head for the bunda and then flow around it. Suddenly Sar heard a whistle from above. Looking up, she saw a figure leaning over from the lookout platform inside the wall. “What is it, Jompar?” she asked. “You must gather the others and come inside quickly,” he shouted. “We have spotted a huge fire on the plain headed this way. Move fast, now!”\n\nAs Sar and the others rounded the southwest corner of the wall, they saw the smoke rising above the plain, stretching from the river across to the west. The fire was coming from the south along the riverbed, and the acrid smell of it already reached her nose as the constant, dry wind blew directly at her. Realizing that all the girls were just standing there staring, Sar yelled, “Let’s get inside quickly. They may need our help.”\n\nOnce the girls were inside, the gates were closed and barred. Sar walked over toward a crowd that had gathered below the lookout platform along the south wall, next to the gate. Teros was now standing on the platform looking out. She called up to him, “Any sign of the hunting party?” \nHe turned and looked down at Sar and the others who stood waiting for him to tell them what was going on outside the walls. Everyone in the bunda knew not to climb up on the lookout platform unless invited. “I don’t see the hunting party. They may be behind the wall of flame. I don’t think we can get to them anyway.” \n\nOne of the men said, “How bad is it, Teros?” “It looks very bad,” he replied. “The wall of flame is many, many leaps wide and is headed straight toward us.” “So what are we going to do?” said another. “I don’t know yet. Let me think about it.” \n\nSar called up to him, “May I come up, Teros?” Without turning, he called back, “Yes.” \nSar didn’t even use the ladder but instead jumped up, grabbed the edge of the ledge, and pulled herself up in one smooth motion. She walked over to stand next to Teros and asked, “How much time do we have?” At the sound of her voice, Teros turned and said, “Sar! I thought you were Keela.” “Well, I’m not, and you invited me up.” “Yes, I guess I did,” he replied, as he turned back to look at the fire. After a moment, he said, “I think it will be here very soon.” \n\nSar waited for a moment and then asked, “Will we be safe behind the walls?” “I don’t think so,” he replied. Then turning around to point, he said, “You see there how the fire seems to jump ahead of itself sometimes. The wind is so strong that it will probably blow sparks right over the wall and onto the roofs of the huts. It’s probably very hot, also. The walls may go up as soon as the fire touches them. We’ve got to get out, but I don’t know where we can go to be safe.”\n\n“Why don’t we go across the riverbed?” said Sar. “Maybe the fire won’t make it across.”\n“I think that’s our only choice,” said Teros, as he turned around on the platform and looked at the expectant faces below—mostly men, children, and Birthers. He spoke to them with authority. “Here is what we must do. This fire is coming strong and fast. It looks like it will overrun the bunda. We will try and stop it, but we must move everyone across the river to wait for the fire to pass. Jompar, take some men and get the water sacks and start pouring them on the roofs of the huts close to the walls,” he directed. “I want the rest of the men to go about ten leaps to the south and start clearing out a line of brush, trees, and any grass you can pull up. Everyone else must cross the riverbed. You adolescent boys and girls should help the Birthers with the children. Be careful of the rocks when you cross. Any questions?”\n\n“What should we take with us?” said one boy. “Very good question,” replied Teros. “Listen carefully. I want you and two other boys to go to the mead cave and move anything that isn’t food or water out. Don’t worry if you break anything. Now listen, all of you. Each of you is to take one, and only one, possession per person and put it down in the cave. Hopefully the fire will pass right over it. Anything else? Okay, then, get moving!” \n\nSar turned to Teros and said, “What should I do?” “I want you to take responsibility for getting everyone out of the bunda and across the river bed safely. Can you do that?” “I can and I will,” she replied. Then turned and jumped down from the platform.\n\nKerena was breathing heavily from her exertion, and her throat was raw and dry. She had found a trail on the other side of the riverbed, but it was very steep. The land on this side sloped up very quickly to a tall mountain, and she had to scramble along its side, sometimes having to cross through small ravines. It wasn’t that much faster than the riverbed, but the footing was better. She had decided to keep moving ahead of the group, passing the task of carrying Banula’s body to Maave, she told everyone to go at their own pace and to rendezvous across from the bunda on this side of the river. \n\nThe daylight was almost gone now, and she could see the glow of the fire off to the west. She had been going for some time now, and was beginning to worry that she had gone too far north when she heard the sound of voices up ahead. Moving down the slope, she soon spotted a large group of her people stretched out along the riverbank on this side. Quickly making her way to a large rock, she looked across the river and gasped. The bunda was nothing but black smoldering piles of ash. Here and there, small fires still burned, but nothing recognizable was left. She hung her head to her chest for a moment, and then sat down on the rock with a heavy thud. \nShe was still breathing quickly, but her breaths now came in short gasps as she tried to absorb the impact of it all. Looking up again, she stared at what remained of the bunda, all thoughts leaving her head as she became numb. Just then, she caught sight of two shadowy figures moving with difficulty across the riverbed. Their dark shapes were outlined against bright tan rocks that reflected the light of the twin moons. As she watched, she noticed that each of the figures was carrying another. Rising quickly, she hurried over to see who the four were.\n\n“Who’s there!” Teros stood up from the center of the circle of people and said, “Kerena? Is that you?” Those around him stood back as she made her way to him. He was standing next to Jompar, and behind them, Fanta was kneeling next to a woman lying on the ground. As she came closer, Kerena saw that it was Sar who Fanta was leaning over. She also saw that the fourth figure was Marthe, but she was lying off to the side with no one near her. “What happened, Teros?” she said, as they locked arms and bent their heads until their foreheads touched.\n \n“It’s my fault,” he said. His face was covered with black soot and streaked with tears. They started to flow again as he said, “I told Sar that she was responsible for making sure everyone got out of the bunda. The fire was already at the south wall when she came running up to me, carrying a child. As she put the child into my arms she told me that Marthe was still inside and refused to leave. Then she turned to run back toward the bunda. I screamed at her not to go and tried to run after her. But she’s so fast there was no way I could stop her. Before I knew it she was across the river, headed straight toward the east wall.” Teros bowed his head for a moment, and then continued. “I told everyone else to stay behind and crossed the river after her. By that time she had already pulled herself over the top of the wall and was inside. I couldn’t follow, so I tried to get around the south wall, but it was completely in flames. Jompar came and pulled me back to the riverbank to wait. Sar didn’t come out and we just cried as we watched the bunda burn to the ground.”\n\nTeros stopped to wipe the tears from his eyes, and just then Kerena heard loud coughing from behind him. As he stepped aside, she could see Sar turned to her side on one elbow, coughing and hacking. Kerena went over and knelt next to Fanta the Birther, who was applying a wet cloth to Sar’s back. As Kerena reached over and pulled back a corner of the cloth, Sar sat up, screaming. Kerena saw that her entire back had been severely burned. Fanta pushed the cloth back in place and laid a hand on Sar’s neck, and she relaxed back on her side and began coughing again. \n\nKerena stood up and went back to Teros, asking, “Where did you find her, then?” \n“After the fire moved on, Jompar and I decided we had to go look for them. We tied wet skins to our feet and went to look for them,” he replied. “When we first entered the area, we thought for sure that they must have been consumed by the fire. Everything in sight was either still smoking or just a pile of ashes. Then I remembered the mead cave. I had told everyone they could put one possession inside to keep it safe. And sure enough there they were. Somehow Sar must have gotten Marthe pushed down into the cave and had crawled in after her. When we got them out, I thought they were both dead, but we heard shallow breathing from Sar. I don’t know how she lived through it, but she did. Marthe doesn’t have a mark on her, but she’s dead.” \n\nKerena turned and walked over to Marthe body which lay on it’s side. Kneeling, she she reached out to feel the woman’s neck to feel for a pulse. Feeling nothing she slid her hand back to Barthe’s shoulder and pulled the body the body back and looked at Marthe’s grimaced face. Shaking her head she whispered, “I’m glad you’re finally gone, Marthe. You have stolen ten lives now from this bunda, caused great pain to Sar, and now I must take up your burden.” \n\nStanding, Kerena turned back to survey her people. They all were standing in a semi-circle facing the river bed. Most were in groups huddled together and staring across at what was once the bunda. Finally Kerena’s eyes fell on Pena, who was holding her daughter. Walking over to the young birther, she smiled and carefully took her daughter in her arms, turned and trudged off, as a single tear rolled down her cheek.\n\n[[Continue|Moving]]

Terminal Pregnancy\n(ABC)\n\n“This emergency meeting of the High Council is now called to order,” said the First Speaker of the council to the other grim-faced women who sat behind the single large table in the small, dimly lit room. “We are all present and accounted for. We have a special report from the field. Please turn on the speakerphone. Hello? Are you there? Can you hear me?”\n\n“Yes, I’m here, and I hear you fine, Madam Speaker.” “Good. Then proceed with your report.”\n“I have just spoken to Sara again and tried every tack to dissuade her from her decision but I now believe she will not change her mind.”\n\n“How far along do you estimate she is?” said one of the other women. The voice on the phone replied, “I would say that she is now more than five months along; perhaps closer to six. Her life is forfeit at this point.”\n\nMany of the council members nodded as the First Speaker of the High Council said, “Thank you for your report. You are a loyal friend to the cause. Please hold for the Council vote.”\n\nThe first speaker turned to the table of women and said, “Well you all heard the report. We have another terminal pregnancy on our hands. I don’t think we need to discuss this, do we?” Slowly she looked from face to face and then said, “I thought not. It pains me to see such a promising career go to waste but there is no other choice. All in favor please raise your hands. Abstentions? Thank you, ladies. You may now reconnect our guest. Hello, are you there?”\n\n“I am here, Madam Speaker,” was the reply.\n\n“The High Council of Ternary, under the authority granted to us by the Freedom of Choice Decree, hereby authorizes you to proceed with the termination. Are there any questions?”\n\nThe voice responded, “I understand my mission, Madam Speaker. I will act immediately upon the Council’s wishes.”\n\n“Very good,” said the First Speaker, “please report back upon completion of your assignment. You will, of course, be rewarded handsomely.”\n\n“Thank you, Madam Speaker. Good-bye.”\n\nThe phone rang, and Sara started to roll over and reach for it when she was thwarted by her stomach. Rolling back, she said to Jacob in a sleepy voice, “Would you get that? I know that it’s Selene, and I don’t want to talk to her.” \n\nAs she lay on her back, Sara heard Jacob answer the phone. “Hello? Hi, Selene. Yes, she’s here but she’s asleep. No, it’s funny; the phone doesn’t wake her up anymore. Uh huh . . . well, she’s definitely bigger in the stomach these days. Oh, I think she said that she’s about seven months along. Uh huh . . . well, if you really want me to, I’ll tell her what you said. Are you sure? Okay. Uh huh. Good-bye.” \n\nJacob hung up the phone and lay back beside Sara, patting her stomach with his hand. After a while she asked, “Okay, what did Selene say?” “Are you sure you want to know?” “Well, I’ll just think the worst if you don’t tell me.” “It might be better than what she really said.” “Oh, just tell me,” she sighed. “Okay. She said that she was too embarrassed to be seen with you anymore, and since you won’t get that thing removed from you, she can’t be your friend anymore.” “Just what I expected,” said Sara, “she really burns me; as of right now I’m never talking to her or speaking of her again.” “Okay with me,” said Jacob, as he climbed out of bed and went to take a shower.\n\nWhen Jacob came back from his shower, Sara was still laying in bed. “Are you getting up?” he said. “I would, but I’d have to walk around naked. All of my clothes are so tight that they’re uncomfortable to wear.” “Then let’s go get some new ones that fit,” he replied. “Oh, Jacob, everyone just stares and points at me when we’re out in public. I don’t know if I can take it today.”\n“Well, I don’t think I can find the right size by myself. Besides it’s not as noticeable now as it’s going to be later. Each day you wait, it’s going to be worse.” “Ah, Jacob, ever practical. Thank you for that shot of reality,” she said sarcastically. “Well, get your skinny butt over here and help me out of bed.”\n\n“People are going to break their necks if they keep whipping around like that last woman did,” Sara said, as she walked down the street next to Jacob. It was overcast and windy, and she shivered as she tried to pull the thin white sweater she was wearing over her stomach. She felt so self-conscious about her stomach that she kept touching it, and that only drew more attention to it. Finally Jacob grabbed her hand and held onto it as they stopped at the window of a store to look inside. \n\nThe streets were full of people, and Sara could see their reflections in the windows; everyone who saw her turned to stare, and some even pointed. They had only been walking a couple of blocks, yet she already wanted to give up and go home. She didn’t think Jacob would let her. He had agreed to drive so she wouldn’t have to put up with the stares on the bus, and he was trying to be very supportive, but she still couldn’t seem to force herself to ignore this feeling of unease. Hoping to escape some of the attention, she said, “Come on. Let’s go inside here. Maybe they’ll have something to fit a clar.”\n\nSara opened the door, held it a moment for Jacob, and then stepped inside. The shop was small, rectangular, and cramped, filled to the ceiling with racks of clothes. Not much light came through the small, dirty window, and the lights overhead were old and dim. As her eyes adjusted to the relative darkness, she saw a man behind a counter far in the back. He looked up and waved at them, then went back to reading a book. There were several other people in the store, and they looked up and stared openly for a moment until they became uncomfortable and then went back to leafing through the racks of clothes, working their way closer to the door.\n \nJacob pulled Sara down an aisle and started to leaf through the clothes. She, too, began to look through one of the racks half-heartedly, each item dragging across her bulging belly as she moved it aside to look at the next one. Maybe they have a section of tents, she thought sarcastically. Jacob was trying to be helpful, rapidly flicking through the hangers up ahead of her, and every so often holding something out for her to see. She would usually wrinkle her nose or shrug her shoulders, but sometimes she would nod and he would drape it over his arm. Finally, they had collected a selection of baggy sweaters, loose-fitting pants, and large tunics. Sara said, “I’d better try these on. I can’t even guess what they’ll look like.” \n\nBy now, all the other customers had left the store and the clerk at the counter was still reading his book. As they started to make their way toward the back of the store, the street door opened and a tall, burly-looking woman with long black hair draped over her shoulders ducked her head and entered. Glancing for a moment at Sara, a cold sneer on her homely face, she quickly turned off toward a side aisle, out of view. Sara looked at Jacob, who just shrugged and said, “Well, now you won’t be the only one people will be staring at in here.” Sara smirked and said, “Yeah, right,” then turned to go ask the man behind the counter for the dressing room.\n\nSara stepped inside the small room, piled the clothes on the bench to the side, then turned and reached up to pull the heavy cloth curtain across the doorway. Thank goodness there’s a mirror in here and I don’t have to go out into the store to see how this stuff looks, she thought, as she lifted her long tight sweater over her head. Her arms still in the sweater, she pulled them down in front of her, cupping her hands under her protruding stomach, and stood gazing at her profile in the mirror. It looks like a watermelon, she thought, as she pulled her arms from the sweater and ran her hands up along the sides of her belly to where it began to curve inward just under her rib cage, almost even with the bottoms of her slight breasts. Her pants were partially unzipped and tucked below it, just above her trunk. She ran her hand up and down over it slowly, rocking gently from side to side, lost in momentary reverie. Then turning to the bench, she thought, if this big tunic fits, I’m going to wear it out of here.\n\nSara had on the loose tunic and a pair of stretch pants, with the rest of the clothes draped over her left arm, as she pulled the dressing room curtain to the side. Straight ahead, Jacob was leaning against the counter talking to the shopkeeper. He looked up at her, straightened and turned smiling. She started to smile back, but it froze on her face as she looked over Jacob’s left shoulder and saw the huge woman moving quickly toward them, a menacing look on her face. Jacob followed the direction of her gaze and turned to see what she was looking at. As he turned to his left, Sara could see the long blade of a knife the woman held in her left hand, down by her hip, and she heard herself scream “Jacob!” \n\nThe woman moved quickly, lunging past Jacob and shoving him to the side with her right arm, charging straight toward Sara, the knife aimed directly at her stomach. Jacob managed to grab her arm, but she was so tall the knife plunged into the clothes that Sara instinctively held out in front of her. She was thrown off balance, though, and she fell to the floor with Jacob still holding onto her right arm, the clothes now impaled on the knife. Sara stood awestruck, staring down at the woman who was now rolling back, pulling Jacob toward her and trying to free her knife from the clothes. \n\nJacob was now on top of the woman, one hand on her left shoulder and, with the other, struggling to pin the arm with the knife to the floor. Ever so slowly, the knife, now freed from the clothes, moved up toward Jacob’s throat. He was struggling with all his might as he yelled to Sara, “Run! Now! Get out of here!” \n\nSara stood there staring a moment more, her mind in a daze, and then a flood of anger swept over her as a burning heat rushed to her hands. Suddenly she screamed “Noooo!” and, dropping to her knees, grabbed the woman’s hair in both her hands and started to slam her head against the floor. In a full rage now, she slammed it again and again. The woman tried to buck Jacob from on top of her, but he held on.\n\nSara was still pounding the woman’s head when Jacob reached up and placed his hands on hers. Slowly she released her fingers from the woman’s hair and stared at the pool of blood that now encircled her head. Numb and exhausted, she looked up into Jacob’s eyes as he said, “We have to get out of here, Sara.” It was a long a moment before comprehension sunk in. Nodding, she stood, and he grabbed her by the hand and dragged her toward the front of the store. \nThe storekeeper, who upon seeing the woman with the knife had ducked behind the counter, now stood up and yelled, “Are you going to pay for that tunic?” Jacob pulled some money from his pocket, threw it on the floor, and then led Sara from the store.\n\nWhen they reached the car, they jumped in, and Jacob sped away quickly. As they drove for home, Sara stared at the road ahead for a moment and then said, “It’s come to this now. They’ve found out, and they won’t stop until I’m dead. I should have known that Maggie would resort to something like this.” “Are you sure it’s Maggie’s doing?” said Jacob. “Who else would it be? No, I think she’s finally released the clar, and there’s no rest for us from now on.”\n\nShe paused for several minutes, deep in thought, and Jacob, as was his way, waited for her to speak. Finally she said, “We can’t go home, Jacob. They may have someone waiting there for us. We’ve got to leave town. As a matter of fact, maybe I should go off on my own. This is getting too dangerous for you. I should never have dragged you into it.” Jacob quickly responded. “No way, I’m not going to leave you. I’m a part of this, and I can help. Together we can survive this.” Sara shook her head an said, “I’m not going to survive, no matter what, Jacob. I just want the baby to survive.” He replied. “How is the baby going to survive if you go off on your own and die giving birth?” “I don’t know,” she said. Nature must have planned for this. Women must have managed to do it by themselves before the Chambers were around.” “I don’t think they did it on their own, Sara. We’re too dependent on others. No, I’m going with you. Let’s just start driving for the mountains and we’ll figure something out.” Sara set her lips, knowing that Jacob was right. For once, she followed his lead and remained quiet.\n\n[[Continue|Woods]]

Copyright © 2014 by L.D. Hones\nAll rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions\[email protected]

A New Beginning\n(ABC)\n\nMaggie walked across the clearing toward the fire that was burning outside the hut. She had just come back from the dirt road, checking for signs of any visitors, and had walked a loop around the outside of the clearing. She could see the two figures of Casey and Jacob huddled on the bench to the right of the fire. When she reached the fire, she turned and looked up at the trees on the edge of the clearing. They were outlined in the yellow glow of the rising sun, and it reminded her that more than just a new day was beginning this morning. Turning back around, she bent down and grabbed another log, threw it on the fire, then stood and walked over to the bench. \n\n“How is she doing? Is she warm enough?” Casey, holding the Birther child wrapped in a blanket, looked up at Maggie and said, “She’s sleeping right now, but she seems okay.” Maggie leaned over to look at the small round face and said, “No wonder she’s sleeping. She must have eaten half of our food last night.” Casey glanced over at Jacob and said, “Yeah, it’s a good thing Jacob thought to give her some, or the little thing might have eaten us during the night. I’ve never seen a child so aggressive. Is your arm all right, Jacob?” Jacob felt the bandage on his arm and said, “It seems to have stopped bleeding. I had to feed her in self-defense. That little lady really took a chunk out me. I can’t believe that they’re born with a mouth full of teeth like that.” “I should have warned you,” said Maggie. “I knew from studying the remains that they were. I just didn’t know that they started eating right away.” She paused for a moment, putting her right hand to her chin, and said, “Now that I think about it, though, that probably doesn’t bode well for the mother, even if she does manage to survive the child’s exit from her body.” “That’s an awful thought,” said Casey. “You mean I was almost dinner last night,” said a voice from the doorway of the hut. As one, the three of them turned to look at Sara, who was leaning weakly against the doorway, her face an ashen white. “You shouldn’t be up,” said Casey, as she stood, carefully placed the Birther in Jacob’s arms, and then walked over to Sara. “You should go back inside and lie down.”\n“I don’t want to,” said Sara. “I want to see my little Birther.” Maggie went to her side, and she and Casey helped her walk to the bench and slowly lower herself beside Jacob, who placed the bundle in her arms. Sara cradled the child to her breast and gazed down into its face. “She looks so calm and peaceful,” she said. “You didn’t see her in a feeding frenzy last night, like I did,” said Jacob. “I don’t care,” said Sara, still gazing into the tiny face. “I’m just glad to be seeing her at all. I made it, I guess. It is possible to survive the birth of a Birther.” “You can thank Casey and Jacob for that,” said Maggie. “She cut the baby out of you, and Jacob fed it something other than you.” “Your dream made me think of it,” said Casey. “I just gave her a convenient way out that was easy to sew up. Let me see how your stitches are doing. Here, Jacob, take this child and move out of the way.” \n\nAs Casey lifted the Birther from Sara’s arms, it opened its eyes, yawned, and started to smack its lips and struggle inside the blanket. Maggie laughed and said, “You’d better go feed her something right away, Jacob, or you’re going to be missing another chunk of yourself.” “Doesn’t she cry?” asked Sara. “She hasn’t made a sound,” said Casey, as she handed the bundle to Jacob. “Now let me see those stitches.”\n\nAs Sara lay on the bench with her tunic pulled up and Casey poking at her stitches, Maggie said to her, “I don’t suppose you’ve given any thought to where you’re going to raise this child?” “That’s pretty funny, Maggie. I hadn’t planned to still be alive today.” “Oh, right. Well, we’ve got to do something with her, and with you. We could hide you at the Chambers, but I don’t think you can go back to town. When Selene doesn’t report in to the Council, they’ll have more people out looking for you. They may even contact me again.”\n\nAs Casey pulled Sara’s tunic back into place, she looked up at Maggie and said, “You keep calling the baby ‘her,’ Maggie. I think the first thing we need to do is give her a name. Do you have one, Sara?” Sara slowly sat up on the bench and replied, “No, I don’t. You people keep forgetting that I didn’t plan to be alive right now.” “How about Munch?” said Jacob, as he walked back up to the fire with the Birther in one arm, holding a loaf of bread to its mouth. The young child was holding on with both hands and biting off small chunks with gusto. Maggie laughed and said, “I don’t think so, Jacob. We need something more fitting for a child who is about to usher in a whole new era for the Ternian race.” Maggie turned and gazed at the trees around the entrance to the clearing, silhouetted against the large yellow disk of the sun. “I think we should call her Dawn,” she said. Turning back to look at the others, she saw that they too were gazing up at the light streaming through the trees, and it made their faces seem to glow. Sara turned to her with a smile and said, “That’s a good name, Maggie. I like it.” Jacob smiled down at the bundle in his arms and said, “Welcome to the new world, Dawn.”\n\nThat's all for now... [[Go to the final scene in the past|By the Lake]]\n\n(This work is an adaptation of a Kindle novel titled [["Ternary"|http://www.amazon.com/dp/B003YRIQCU]])\n\n\n\n

Life by the Lake\n(BBC)\n\nSar was leading a hunting party home across the plain. As they crested a small hill, she saw the walls of her bunda reflected in the silver waters of the lake like a black door in a silver wall. The water glistened with fiery red eyes as the ripples reflected the late afternoon sun. Hunting had been good, even though this was the dry season. Kerena had made a wise decision when she moved the bunda. She had made an even wiser decision to invite the Laker people to join them as members. They knew much of the food around the lake; good at fishing and finding the small tasty creatures that lived under rocks in the lake. They also turned out to be selfless, as one of them, Pichu, provided another Birther for the bunda. She had said that it was her duty and would bind her people to the bunda. She was indeed wise. Sar hoped that she would be as wise a leader. Kerena had been gone one turn now, and Sar thought she was getting the hang of things. At first the older hunters seemed resentful, but when they saw how fast she could run, they knew that Kerena had made the right decision. \n\nThey had drawn within a leap of the bunda when Neela interrupted Sar’s reverie, saying, “Sar, should we wash the food?” Sar laughed and said, “But of course, Neela. It has been hot and dry today. We have earned it, have we not?” Neela laughed and said, “Yes, Sar, we certainly have,” and ran off yelping for the others to join her in a mad rush to the lake. Sar smiled, then grew a little sad. Such was the burden of being a leader. Decorum demanded that she couldn’t share in the fun of the washing of the food. This had quickly become the tradition of a successful hunting party. They would run past the bunda, whooping and yelling, with the kill high above their heads, and jump straight into the lake, splashing in its crystal clear waters. If the lookouts gave the all clear for clar, the entire bunda would empty and join them in the lake, splashing in glee.\n\nSar walked down the beach of soft gray sand and watched the people of her bunda playing in the water. It had been a very hot day, and she was glad to see that even the children and Birthers had come out to cool off in the waters. Pena was walking down the beach with Kell pulling on one hand and Farina pulling on the other. Sar was amazed at how quickly Kerena’s little Birther had grown. Kell was a full three turns older, yet the Birther child was already taller and much heavier. Sar knew that this would not last, and that at adolescence Kell would quickly pass her in height, but by that time Farina may have already given birth to her first child. \n\nSar smiled as she saw Kell, her raven black hair pulled back and tied loosely at the shoulders, turn to Pena and say something. Pena must have given them permission, because Kell immediately ran a few steps, stopped and turned to yell at Farina to “Come on,” and then sped toward the lake, her long thin legs throwing up sand as she went. Farina ran also, but it almost pained Sar to see how slow she was as she waddled toward the water, her dark hair pulled back just like Kell’s. Kell was knee-deep in water, laughing and waiting, obviously intending to dunk her playmate, but Farina ran right into Kell, and the two of them crashed below the water in a big splash. A moment later, they both came bursting out of the water at the same time, Kell laughing so loudly she started to cough and Farina smiling and hugging herself. Sar smiled, her heart aching so with the joy of the moment that a small tear formed in the corner of her eye and trickled softly down her cheek.\n\nThat's all for now...[[Go to final scene in the future|Dawn]]\n\n(This work is an adaptation of a Kindle novel titled [["Ternary"|http://www.amazon.com/dp/B003YRIQCU]])\n

Sara’s Dream\n(ABC)\n\n“She didn’t even say good-bye,” said Sara. “It was really weird,” agreed Casey. “She was just gone by the time we got upstairs. She must have told Tom to get Melissa before she came downstairs.”\n\nThey were sitting in Casey’s car, in front of Sara’s house. The small white two-story structure was above them on the hill. A single narrow set of stairs led from the street to the front door. Casey had given Sara a ride home from the Chambers, and the two of them were discussing Maggie’s strange behavior. “What I’d like to know,” said Sara, “is whether we should be concerned for our well-being or not?” “I think she trusts us, Sara. She certainly knows that I owe her my life. And she knows you wouldn’t do anything to jeopardize all of those remains.” “Yeah, I guess you’re right.” \n\nSara’s thoughts turned toward all the things she had seen that day—the game, the Chambers, and that little skeleton. After a few minutes of silent contemplation, she said, “Casey, I know I asked you this already, but if Birthers were real, where did they come from? How were they born? Why do you think the Chambers don’t produce them? Why are only boys and girls born?”\nCasey stared at Sara, her features going from a look of abject awe to finally her brows knit in concentration; she shrugged her shoulders and said, “You know Sara I’m amazed that I haven’t thought of all those questions before given what I do. Frankly I have to admit that I just don’t know.” Casey stopped and thought for a minute and then said, “Maybe conditions aren’t right inside the Chambers themselves to cause a change in the embryos. But I don’t think anyone knows what those conditions would be. How about in the past? What do you suppose determined the sex of the child back when Birthers produced them?” “That’s the question, Casey. And one I think I must have unconsciously set off answer. I know that Samantha Yosser, my professor at the university, had some theories, but she never shared them with me. I would love to go and look through her notes, but I know they were confiscated soon after they took the professor away.” “Who took the professor away, and what for?” exclaimed Casey. “It’s a long story, Casey. A bunch of Security Council thugs took her away, obviously acting on behalf of the High Council. If you want an exact answer to that, we should probably ask Maggie. She seems to have the inside track into the Council and its goings on. As a matter of fact, she probably knows the answers to our other questions as well.” “We should start asking her some of these questions, then,” said Casey. “Good luck,” snorted Sara. “I have never heard Maggie provide much detail on any question she answered. She just seems to be naturally terse and evasive.” “Well, I’m going to try,” said Casey, pounding her knee with her fist for emphasis. Smiling wryly, Sara said, “Go right ahead, Casey.”\n\nThe women sat in the car for some time lost in contemplation, finally broken by yet another question from Sara. “Casey, how can you tell if your sprout has been awakened?” Casey looked over at Sara with a look of amusement, searching her eyes for a moment, and then said, “Well, when were you last with a man?” “This morning, replied Sara.” Casey smiled again and said, “Okay. Did you pull your trunk away before he spouted?” “No,” replied Sara. I haven’t been with very many men and I was definitely lost in the moment.”\n\nCasey sat back and said, “Well, there are a couple of early signs you can start to watch for in the next few weeks. Your appetite will increase dramatically; I mean you’ll be famished all the time. Your abdomen will get sore, and finally, you’ll notice the skin on your trunk start to turn very leathery. Then you’ll know for sure.” “Then what do I do?” Casey replied, “Call the Chambers and set up an appointment with a doctor. Feel free to ask for me. I’ll look you over with some instruments and make sure everything’s normal and then you wait for two months and then come back in to plant your sprout. All pretty easy, you don’t really have to do anything different.” Sara sat back for a moment and then said, “Well, this is all something I’ve never thought about. I’m sure I’m going to have a lot more questions for you Casey.” “Feel fee to call at any time,” replied Casey. “Now I better get going. I have to work the morning shift and I need some sleep.”\n\nSara was laying in bed, staring out the window at Ternary’s two moons. Arok, the larger orb, representing the clar in mythology, was quickly gaining on Jazelle. He would start to devour her in a couple of days. Tonight the moons’ combined light seemed to turn everything in the room a light blue color and cast weird double-halo shadows on the wall. Thoughts and images were racing through Sara’s head. She was incredibly tired, but she couldn’t get to sleep. Finally, she tried to relax her mind by thinking back to the days when she used to do planting with her mother. She could feel the cool brown earth between her fingers and the warm sun on her back as she parted the ground for the seeds. She could hear her mother’s hoe as it worked the earth. Slowly she drifted off . . .\n\nShe had to squint against the bright shafts of light that sparkled down through the leaves of the trees as she walked below. She didn’t know where she was, but it was dark and green and warm, and the shafts of light hurt her eyes. She could hear the voices of little children somewhere up ahead. Moving slowly toward the sound; it grew louder. Coming to a clearing, she saw a group of very small children. They had no hair, and she could see pronounced knobs at the base of their skulls. They were playing around a tree that was completely shorn of leaves, bark, and branches. It was just a ghostly, gray-white pole with a single branch extending straight out high above the children. Her gaze moving lower Sara saw that the children were trying to throw loops of rope over the bare branch. Each would take a turn while the others cheered encouragement. When the loop would miss, in unison they would say “Aaaw” and then sigh. \n\nTurning her gaze slightly, Sara noticed someone at the far edge of the clearing. It was an old woman sitting hunched over on a large, moss-covered rock. Her hair was very long and gray, and it fell across heavy breasts that drooped to her waist. She met Sara’s eyes and smiled. Sara could feel incredible warmth filling the depths of her stomach and she could see a brilliant light in her mind’s eye. She paused, almost basking in the warmth of that smile. Suddenly a cheer went up from the children, and Sara looked back toward the tree. One of them had succeeded in snaring the branch and was climbing up, the rope intertwined between its hands, knees, and feet. The other children’s voices sounded so happy it brought tears of joy to Sara’s eyes. As she reached up to wipe them away, her hand brushed against something round and hard. Looking down at her belly, she saw that it was huge, oblong and swollen. She gasped in horror.\n\nSara awoke in a sweat. Sitting up and throwing the covers to the side, she looked down at her naked body. She was relieved to see the dark outline of her still-flat stomach against the pale blue glow of the sheets. Shaking her head, she noticed a curious gnawing in the pit of her stomach and rolled off the edge of the bed to go get something to eat. \n\nStanding naked in her kitchen, leaning against the counter and chewing on a strip of dried bounder, she wonder if thinking about Birthers all the time does make you go crazy? Maybe the government was right about Professor Yosser—of course! Sam! Sara suddenly put down the strip of meat and went into her study to find the phone number of the hospital where she had last seen her former professor, many years ago. Maybe she’ll have some answers for me.\n\n[[Continue|Prof Sam]]