Into the Forest Shadows (7 page)

"Oh yeah. They did it once in a while before
but it's been getting really bad lately. Come on. No point in
staying and giving them two easy targets," Ayden said, gesturing
forward.

Kate looked up once more. Several bodies had
stopped in a line on one thick limb, staring straight down.
Straight down at her.

"Uh, just how intelligent are these things?"
Kate asked, turning to follow him.

"Depends on the creature, of course. The tree
lemurs are intelligent, but they can't talk in our language like
other forest creatures can."

"I think you're giving them a little too much
credit," Kate said.

"You're so sure of that?" Ayden asked,
throwing a smirk back at her.

She'd only said it to make herself feel
better, but with the smirk no way would she back down. She pushed
heavy branches out of her way, trying to keep them from whipping
around to hit her in the face. She whirled at a sharp tug from
behind. The branches snapped back, striking her hard in the middle
of the back and nearly knocking her over.

Kate pulled at her cape, trying to get it
free of what had entangled it. Gathering up the folds of the cape,
she found one corner of it wrapped tightly in a coil of flexible
white root. A root that was tied to the thick branch of a nearby
tree.

A small black creature with bright eyes
appeared next to the tree, rising to its haunches. She found
herself the sole focus of its attention over a long nose with a
white patch of fur near rounded ears. It put one long and nimble
paw on the line and tugged, glaring at her.

No doubt in her mind that it had been done on
purpose.

Kate yanked off the knot. The creature
watched as she backed away. Ayden's mouth twitched with amusement,
but he didn't say anything.

Kate marched past him, "Okay, so maybe a few
of them have brains. Not another word."

"Nope, not another word," Ayden said in a
voice on the brink of laughter.

Know-it-all Gatherers, attacking tree lemurs,
electrocution by fog, human-eating beetles...

When she got to Grandma's house she wasn't
going anywhere for a week.

#

"Ms. O'Hanson? Ranger Tottori would like to
speak with you in Inter-Planetary Communications."

Mary O'Hanson looked up at the Ranger from
the rock ledge she'd been sitting on under the shade of a bushy
tree with bright purple leaves while waiting for Kate's shuttle to
return. The rugged features of the Ranger's face held a controlled
quality that put her on edge. The last time she'd seen a similar
expression was when she and Travis had been asked to explain why
their company scheduled an extra freight run to the planet. A
freight run she'd not known about before the meeting.

Mary found her voice, "Is there a problem,
Ranger?"

"Please follow me." the Ranger gestured
towards the tall central buildings that made up the core of the
human settlement on Oburos.

Mary slid off the ledge. The sound of engines
made her look up. She spotted a dark spot in the sky, but it
approached on the standard planetary approach vectors to the city.
That meant an off-world transport and not Kate's shuttle.

Another ship. Meaning more people arriving at
the colony thinking they could make their fortunes with the
byproducts of the unique forest. Just before entering the main
Spaceport building her practiced eye identified the new ship as a
Series V Galaran transport.

By morning it would be filled with those
unable to take the restrictive living necessary on Oburos. Such as
the extensive recycling which meant many common luxury goods from
other worlds were not welcome on Oburos. Or the small living
quarters, most of which did not have outer windows. The
restrictions and permits needed to make trips into the forest, and
what plants and items could be harvested in the forest.

The cargo hold would be filled with the
valuable byproducts of the forest destined to be delivered
throughout the Interplanetary Confederacy. Most of it would be from
the Blackstone Corporation, the business started by her
grandmother.

With the day-to-day operations overseen by
Travis. He excelled at running the Blackstone Corporation
profitably, but his enthusiasm frustrated her at times. She'd put
off dinner that night because of it. She didn't want to talk to him
any more about the financial changes he wanted to make which
included him taking stock. Some of it sounded risky. Somehow she
had to find a polite way to say something without causing any
problems.

Two women at terminals looked up as they
walked into the main Inter-Planetary Communications office. Mary
recognized Ranger Tottori's dark hair at one of the stations. He
glanced towards the door, and seeing her he straightened his
uniform coat and quickly walked over to her.

A large display on one side of the room
showing a map of the human area. Over the map clearly defined
approach vectors to each of the Gatherer Camps showed no
activity.

Where was Kate's shuttle? It certainly hadn't
arrive back at the city.

Ranger Tottori pulled her to the side of the
room. "There's been a problem."

In a flash Mary found herself in the past.
Barely a teen, the same words shattering her world. Father holding
her hand so tight it hurt as the Ranger explained the situation.
Still no communications with or help from other worlds. The hulk of
their crashed ship still in the deep scar at the end of the
peninsula and the start of the buildings that would eventually
become the city after it became obvious no help would be
coming.

After the scouting mission didn't return on
time.

"We have confirmation your daughter was on
the shuttle along with a Gatherer named Ayden Jarreau." Ranger
Tottori continued.

Mary forced herself out of the memories.
"What happened to the shuttle?"

"Electrical fog is rolling through the area.
We received telemetry that the shuttle was losing altitude before
we lost contact."

Mary sucked in her breath. Just like last
time. "When will a rescue party be at the crash site?"

"The fog is lingering and indications are a
bank will roll into the area tonight. We dare not send another
shuttle out until the fog clears. However, we successfully turned
the shuttle back to Ms. Blackstone's site."

"You've called Mother? Is Kate injured?"

"Communications to Blackstone Station are
down. We've had no response to our calls."

"That doesn't make sense. The communication
relay is sheltered in the tree. The fog shouldn't affect it," Mary
said.

Ranger Tottori studied at the map, "Ayden is
a competent Gatherer, I know his Uncle Henry quite well. He'll take
care of your daughter. We'll keep you informed of any updates as we
have them, but don't expect anything tonight unless we regain
communications with Blackstone Station."

"She may not be inside yet." Ranger Tottori
said a few more things she didn't remember once she left the room.
Her little girl had likely been in a shuttle crash. She didn't know
if her daughter survived or not. Kate didn't have much fear, and
there was a lot to fear in the forest. Mary should have sat down
and talked a few things over with her, given her a few more
warnings.

Or said a proper goodbye.

A surge of anger welled up in her at the
missed opportunity. She moved down the halls of the spaceport and
into the main city with solid steps. Travis could have been more
patient at the shuttle. He was known for his patience and goodwill
with everyone else.

And why couldn't Kate be more
understanding?

Mary yearned to have a close family again,
like what she remembered before Grandma's crash. Before Oburos
regained contact and travel with the Interplanetary Confederacy. If
only Kate would stop rebelling maybe she could see what a close
family they could be.

Somehow she found herself in front of the
offices of the Blackstone Corporation. The guilt pushed down at the
anger. After her marriage to his brother, Travis had taken the helm
of the main offices and pushed the company to new heights. Since
Mary and Kate came back to the planet he'd been there for them.

With the suppressed anger, the fear
reappeared.

She walked straight through the main room
filled with desks to one of the private offices along the back. She
let herself into the room.

Travis sat at his desk with a large window
behind him framing a view of the ocean and some of the fields. One
corner showed a portion of the multi-colored wall of trees
surrounding the human habitation. A few colorful native plants in
pots graced the high windowsill.

"I asked not to be disturbed while working on
this contract." Travis looked up with a deep scowl on his face. His
face cleared when he saw her, a smile transforming him into the
caring man she knew. "Good afternoon, Mary. Have you changed your
mind about having dinner tonight? Kate is invited, of course."

Mary felt her facade crumble. Still standing
next to the door she broke down crying.

Travis rushed forward. "What is it?"

Mary managed to explain in a haphazard way
she knew wasn't making much sense. Travis held her tight, rubbing
her back.

He leaned away from her with a soft smile,
"Kate will be fine. The shuttle is well built and surely made it to
the ground safely. We'll have dinner tonight to get this off your
mind and in the morning we'll know more."

"She's my daughter. She'll always be on my
mind."

"Of course. That's not what I meant." He
handed her a tissue, then squeezed her arm.

Mary wiped away the moisture on her cheeks,
"Not all shuttles land safely. I should know!"

"You can't compare this to the accident your
mother survived all that time ago." A beep at the desk signaled
Travis stepping back. "I want you to go home. I have a few calls to
take care of and then I'll be down. We'll talk about the weather,
the food, the business. I have more ideas concerning the financial.
Go on, I'll be there soon."

With a hand to her back he quickly guided her
out of the office. Mary found herself with the door closed behind
her, confused as to what had just happened, and feeling even more
upset than before.

CHAPTER SEVEN

Ayden slowed down, which was just as well.
The moment he entered into the shadows the earthy colors of his
clothes made him disappear right in front of Kate's eyes.

The light from a full moon settled on her
head. With her eyes adjusted to the soft glow of the forest, it
hurt to look at it. A dark shape flew past the blindingly bright
orb.

Oh great, another beetle.

Wait, no. Beetles didn't flap their wings
like a bird. She'd heard of the huge flying birds and reptiles in
the forest, a few of them hunters. She thought she'd seen one near
the city once.

But the thing in front of the moon looked
huge. Huge enough to make bumps rise on her arms. The fact it
looked like it was carrying something didn't help her imagination
any.

Good, it was heading for the mountains.

Kate shivered, hurrying after Ayden. First
beetles, and now a hunting bird. She didn't like the thought of one
of them diving down at her, possibly considering her a meal.

A little further and Kate recognized the wide
area between trees as the landing area for the shuttles. She smiled
at the familiarity of it all. "We're here!"

"About time," Ayden muttered, not
stopping.

"And no signs of fog. This is great!" Kate
said, skipping in excitement.

A low thrumming came from Ayden. Low and
fast, it barely hovered in her ability to hear. Kate looked at his
back, "I hope that isn't you."

A small body jumped out of his coat and
bounced twice on the ground. The dark shape scurried into the
trees.

"Aw, come on, Bunbun! Not now!" Ayden
groaned.

Kate stopped next to him. "What's wrong with
him?"

"He does that when he's frightened," Ayden
said. He turned partially towards her, "Go ahead. I need to get him
before he gets into trouble or lost. I'll be right behind you."

Ayden took off after BunBun. Kate sighed,
watching him go. Thank goodness she was on familiar ground.

She picked her way along the path towards the
house. A soft light filtered out one window, making the last
portion even easier to walk. Never had she been so glad to see the
odd house set in the midst of a tree.

Kate quickly crossed the remaining distance.
A shape moved on the other side of the lit window. She knocked and
her hand dropped to the door latch.

Through the closed door a rough voice
demanded, "Who is it?"

Kate's hand froze on the latch. "Uh, Grandma?
It's me, Kate. The shuttle crashed. Has Mom called you?"

The door flew open. Grandma blinked at her,
looking out in the woods past her. Her eyes came back to Kate.
"Kate, my grand-daughter. Yes, yes, please come in."

Grandma stepped back into the dimly lit
cottage. Kate paused, going over the scruffy appearance. Grandma's
normally well-groomed hair stuck out in multiple directions. An
apron around her waist was tied crookedly. No shoes, or even
slippers, on her feet.

Kate let the door quietly swing close and
latch behind her. "Are you doing okay, Grandma?"

Grandma cleared her voice while picking a
pile of computer storage disks off the sofa. "Of course. How are
you?"

"A little shaken up. I've never been in a
crash before. Do you think we could call Mom? She's going to be
really worried. I should have been home hours ago."

"I don't think it's working right now. Fog
came through not long ago," Grandma said.

Kate frowned. The last time they'd been able
to see the fog it didn't look like it had come down the hills as
far as the cottage.