Children of the Star

Two nights and that was it. Seeca had to get away from Begak today. Now was the perfect time to go, he thought. Begak didn't function well out here, especially in the mornings. Seeca smirked as he listened to Begak cursing at everything he encountered. He thinks this is a hardship Seeca thought. Let Begak eke out a substandard living in the bowels. Then he would know what hard is. I wonder, Seeca speculated, if it's possible to live outside all the time? When this is over, I might try. And bring mom and dad if it works. He started daydreaming as he began to move closer to the water. How deep is it? It flows fast, he observed. How had those two built the raft? "The tree limbs seemed to float. Would a large one hold my weight?" He was planning his escape moment by moment. I'll only be able to get one fallen limb to ride upon; it must hold my weight. But how do I calculate what's big enough? Too small, and I will probably sink and drown. Looking toward Begak's camp, Seeca considered the alternative. Not to go now was certain death. He looked to the sky once again — dark rolling clouds, with light playing through them. Lightning, the name came to the front of his mind. Another life-saving memory that Al gave him. Lightning and thunder were not a bowel experience. Still, he felt as if he knew of thunder and lightning personally. It was new to him, and it was old to him. Al's knowledge gave him the edge he needed. Begak had begun to become suspicious of his ability, questioning him last night as he watched Seeca set up his camp. "Who told you about outside?" grilled Begak. "Your dad," Seeca barked back at Begak, tired of him. "My dad, what? What? He gave you the same info he gave me. He told me he wouldn't give you any, didn't want you to have an advantage. Just like that sob to do something like this and not say a word to me," complained Begak, walking away. Seeca smirked and went about his business. It wasn't Begak's dad who gave him the information. But he wasn't telling him that. Seeca brought his mind back to the problem at hand. "How am I getting out of here right now?" Thunder rolled through the air. Seeca could hear Begak cursing almost as loud as thunder. "I'm not leaving this site, not with the sky looking like that, "Begak yelled. "We Can't jump out of here. It doesn't work. I can't reach anyone, no communications. Only when I reach the bend and meet with the Pearl tomorrow will I get out of this place; I'm not leaving this place with those skies looking like that. Jenkins, tell the rat we're staying one more day." Oh no, Seeca thought, overhearing Begak. The Pearl will be here tomorrow. Now I gotta get out of here for sure. He doubled his efforts to find a tree limb big enough to hold his weight. Everyone in the bowels knew the Pearl. Seeca had met him years ago, deep in the bowels at the old jump site. They met by accident, or so Seeca thought. It was months after they had met that Seeca became aware he was the Pearl. They remained cordial, but you never knew with the Pearl if he was friend or foe. I am going to be long gone before tomorrow comes, vowed Seeca. In fact, I'm leaving now, he decided, seeing a log washing ashore he calculated was big enough to hold his weight without sinking. He began to cautiously wade out into the river, feeling the cool nip of the water. Brrr, he thought as the cold hit his body. He reached for the log floating by. The eddy had brought the limb closer to shore and slowed the turbulent path it was on. That girl is somewhere behind me, Seeca thought. I can ride this log down the river, find a place to go to shore, and wait. Not a great plan, he thought, but it would have to do. Seeca did not want to think about what might be in the water with him. Already, Al's instant +knowledge was bombarding him with images of man-eating killer fish. River and Irsei rounded the bend, floating quickly by in the raging river, and saw him standing on the small beachhead, looking as if he had lost something. Seeca had seen them seconds before that. "I can see the pattern of the universe in him," said River as she saw Seeca wading in the water. She and Irsei both heard him simultaneously, "The Pear...," Seeca started to say, then looked to River, astounded, and said, "You are the sun, I see the wave in you, I've been looking for you." That was one of the last things she heard him shout before he screamed, disappearing under the water. "What … you!" screamed Seeca feeling something grip his feet as he watched the two on the raft disappear beneath a shield. And then suddenly, he was flying through the water, held tight by the line that had wrapped around his feet, pulling him in as he desperately tried to get away. Jenkins had just crested the small bluff, looking down to the beach for the kid. He caught a glimpse of some bright glare on the water, then just as quickly, it disappeared. What was that? He barely had time to think when he heard the kid scream. Jenkins automatically moved toward the sound of the screaming and stopped dead in his tracks. The kid was flying through the water, dipping under the waves, then coming up sputtering and choking and fighting to get away from something that had a grip on him under the water pulling him in. Under Seeca went again, the fog and river taking him away. Shocked, Jenkins stood watching the kid until he went under and did not resurface. Again, he heard a scream; this time, it was Begak screaming in rage. Seeca was gone.