Alien Alliance (27 page)

They hid the items digging carefully, placed
a cairn of rocks on top and hoped to fool the scanner.

“Julia pondered, “Is the scanner programmed
to detect just People with non-organic items? Or the items
themselves?”

No one knew. They marked the spot and
continued up and away from the city.

“I hope this isn’t a mistake,” Rani said
softly, “we now have no food, no water, no method of communication
and no means to get any food except for fruit or nuts if we can
find them. What else is edible?” No one answered.

"Did anyone see any maps? Any idea of what's
over the hill?" Karl asked.

"Yes there's a valley or something with a
river running through it." Yogabala continued, "It looked lovely
and we wondered why no one lived there."

"It's because the education centre had to be
built where the Priskya could use it. They insisted," added Bea.
"Do you know there are only about 130 cities on this planet and
almost everyone lives in cities? There are a few hunting lodges,
some fishing villages and that's about it."

"And the fishing places are small cities and
for sports fishing," added Yogabala in disgust. "This planet
imports almost everything."

"Well I admit it boggles the mind to think
of a fish cutting down trees," said Julia.

"Or mining," added Ilse.

"Or farming or gardening," Julia laughed.
She was relieved that the children had not realised just how bad a
situation they were in. She blessed their enquiring minds, amazed
at the amount of information they had acquired in such a short
time.

With night coming, they were heading into a
forest. They stopped and debated what to do for the very long
night.

"We know there are carnivores out here but
is anything dangerous up the trees? You kids all went to the zoo.
What lives up trees?" Rani looked at the girls.

The children tried to remember but could
only think of land animals.

"Any snakes on Torroxell? Any poisonous
spiders? For that matter any poisonous trees?" Julia asked the
girls but they didn't know. They didn't think so.

Everybody agreed that up the trees for the
long night it would be. They all felt vulnerable on the ground and
while they didn't know what lived up the trees, they did know what
lived on the ground and they had no shelter and no weapons. They
all climbed up and bent the flexible branches over laughing about
pretending to be gorillas. Carefully, they wove the branches into a
mat. It wasn't very comfortable. The children were put in the
middle and the adults lay down beside them to keep them warm and
secure. Yogabala and Bea quickly fell asleep. The others talked and
planned quietly for awhile. Then Ilse fell asleep.

Karl decided to keep a watch. It was a very
long night, made longer by strange noises, fears, uncertainty and
grief. He cried softly about the probable deaths of his friends. He
wondered if they were all that had survived and if the Nedris were
still alive. There was nothing to do but think and worry. He
agonized long about having brought the children to this danger but
finally his good sense prevailed and he started to plan what they
would do in the morning. Rani had gone to sleep but then Julia woke
up. They talked quietly and planned. Several times one or the other
tried to sleep but it was cold and uncomfortable despite the warm
clothes they had taken because of the caves.

"I can't sleep it's no good," and she moved
up beside Karl snuggling into him. He put his arm around her.

"Do you have any idea how far away dawn
is."

"Yes, around six hours."

"Seriously."

"Yes seriously. The third moon comes up
about half way through the night," and she pointed.

They continued to talk softly for a while
and then Rani awoke and moved over. She was wide awake and
determined to keep watch. Karl and Julia decided to rest for a
while and curled around the children. Despite their worries, they
were soon asleep.

Rani sat and thought and worried. She too
cried for the presumed deaths of so many, for their predicament and
for her family. She wondered where they were, if they were alive or
dead and what they were doing. The long night dragged on when
suddenly she felt there was someone there, at the base of the tree.
The feeling grew as did her apprehension. Slowly and quietly she
eased forward until she could see. At the foot of the tree looking
up at her were three creatures. They looked to have bodies twice
human size and long thick necks. They had four legs and two arms,
no visible ears, large eyes and a smooth head. One had reared up
the trunk of the tree for a closer look. She estimated its height
at around human height but memorized which branch it was near to
calculate it tomorrow. They stayed looking and seemed to be
sniffing for a few minutes and then abruptly left. Rani was
surprised she wasn't more frightened. They had made no attempt to
climb the tree. The long night continued to drag on. About an hour
before dawn the children awoke, first Ilse, then the other two when
she tried to wriggle out. They sat up beside Rani.

"I need to pee," said Bea.

"So do I," added Yogabala.

Rani explained about the animals she had
seen and the children told her they were dangerous and big. Several
were in the zoo. They were supposed to have been hunted to near
extinction. All four of them eased themselves along a branch,
balanced and peed one at a time.

"Oh yuk, I can't wash my hands," worried
Rani. "I feel filthy."

"You don't smell so good either," Yogabala
cheerfully informed her.

"I'm thirsty," grizzled Bea softly.

"We all are honey," Rani cuddled her.

So when Karl and Julia awoke soon after dawn
it was to see the four looking down at them. Rani explained about
the three creatures she had seen. All were thirsty and in favour of
heading for the valley and the water so down the tree they all
headed. Rani did a quick estimation and worked out the height of
the creature from head to feet must have been eight feet or so. All
were grateful they had decided to sleep in trees and vowed to do so
from now on. It was disconcerting that these animals that were
supposed to be extinct had found them their first night away from
the city.

It was nearly midday before they got to the
top of the hill and by that time all were very thirsty. The shade
of the trees helped keep them cool and for this they were grateful.
Although they searched, no fruit or nut trees were around or if
they were they didn't find them. The children were certain there
was a river in the valley and it seemed likely so they pressed on
determinedly with the adults taking turns piggy-backing the
children in places where the bush was not so thick. But mostly they
had to push their way through thick undergrowth. Although soon
exhausted, the children kept on with few complaints. Julia was so
relieved she had insisted on warm clothes and shoes for the
children. Every so often, one of the adults would climb up a tree
to check they were headed in the right direction.

At last to their heart-felt relief, the
trees thinned and they headed to an area of grassland. Now Bea and
Yogabala were being carried in turn by the adults. Their pace
quickened but they soon had to slow down again. All were exhausted
but no one wanted to rest for more than a few minutes. Thirst drove
them on.

Finally, just after midday, they reached the
river. After drinking, the little girls stripped off their clothes
and went swimming and one by one the others joined them. They
spread their washed undies out to dry. A little later, Rani, Karl
and Julia went off searching for food. The protesting Ilse was
delegated security for the little girls.

The afternoon wore on. The little girls
curled up in the warm sun under a tree and slept. Ilse yawned. To
keep herself awake, she examined the grasses around her. She had an
idea. She found the long thin fibrous leaves they had used to join
Julia's jeans together and experimented. She made a series of small
bags and tested them for strength, then made a larger one out of
what seemed to be the best leaves. Finally she had a large sized
bag, with a flap, made of one piece, with the sides ‘sewn’ together
with thin plaited thread made of the same material.

Karl arrived back late afternoon,
frustrated, tired and angry with no food. Julia arrived some time
later with a few nut things, worried, hungry and also frustrated.
The nuts were like concrete. But both were intrigued with Ilse's
invention.

"Hey, this would make a good fish net,"
enthused Karl and went on to describe a whitebait net design he had
seen on holiday in New Zealand. "It channelled these tiny fish
called whitebait in through a cone shaped net, through a small
outlet and into a big, sealed bag. The fish are trapped there."

But Julia saw it another way, "This would
make a good mattress, like a hammock. My back still hurts from last
night." They agreed Ilse got the achievement award for the day.

"Where's Mummy?" asked a worried
Yogabala.

No one knew. They had agreed to split up in
order to increase their chances of finding food. It was obvious
Yogabala was near tears. Karl and Julia were getting worried too
but they didn't know where to start.

"Could we light a fire to guide her home,"
asked Ilse.

"Well I don't think that's a good idea,"
said her father, "It would be a beacon to the scanners."

"Then how will we cook fish if we catch
it."

"Oh, I didn't think of that Ilse. Raw?"

“Yuk!”

They pondered what to do. The afternoon was
wearing on. It would soon be dark. They were reluctant to leave the
children again. They decided to move up to the trees, climb one and
start to call out.

"But what if those beast things hear us?"
worried Bea.

Suddenly, from the tree line, Rani burst out
at a dead run, frantically waving her arms. Julia took one look and
boosted the three children up the tree. Quickly, she handed up the
bag containing the nut things and the other bags. Then she climbed
up herself and left Karl to boost Rani up. She stared behind Rani
to see what had scared her but there was nothing visible. Karl
helped Rani up the tree. She was gasping, crying and shaking. It
was some time before she could speak.

"It was those three animals again. I climbed
up a tree and it was ages before they went away. I didn't see them
again but I think they followed me. I dropped the fruit I was
carrying," she added.

"Fruit!" said Ilse hungrily.

"Yes, I found a tree. There are lots more.
It's those yellow things that look like a mini pumpkin. I've eaten
them before."

"About these animals. Did they act
aggressive or curious?" asked Julia.

"Well they didn't attack I guess."

"Were they close enough to?"

"Well I guess so. Depends how fast they
are."

"Could they just be curious?"

"I don't know but I wasn't about to ask,"
she replied dryly.

It was near to dark but they could still see
the area up to the trees. Karl persuaded Rani to climb down and
drink some water, reasoning that it was going to be a long
night.

Reluctantly despite her thirst, she did so
with Karl, who was ready to help her back up. One by one they all
went down for a drink while Julia and Ilse kept a lookout. Then the
little girls kept a lookout while the others drank. Still no
animals.

"I'm going for some of those leaves. Keep a
lookout," said Julia and headed off down. She picked several
armloads of the leaves and handed it all up and went off for more.
Meanwhile the rest of them got busy weaving the branches into a
platform and keeping watch. Julia continued until Karl called her
back saying they couldn't see the tree line now.

For some time in the pale moonlight, they
all learned from Ilse how to weave. With all six of them making a
mat and Ilse ‘sewing’ them together, a large mat grew until they
couldn't see enough to continue.

"That's enough for now," said Julia. “That’s
big enough to hold you kids. Tomorrow you kids can continue with it
while all three of us go and get breakfast. And with my smart
child's bags, we can bring back more."

"You could take the mattress, fold it over
and carry heaps," suggested Yogabala.

Bea had obviously been thinking. "How long
can we live without food?"

"About four weeks for you and about six for
your father," she said poking at Karl's paunch teasingly.

"That long?" Bea was shocked.

"Yes. Its water you can't live without.
That's why we were so desperate to get to water today. After about
four days without it, it's difficult to keep walking." She
refrained from telling Bea that she had exaggerated a bit and that
if starving, they wouldn’t be doing much walking either.

It had been a tiring and long day so they
soon cuddled down to sleep. Julia and Karl said they would keep
watch and promised to wake Rani and Ilse half way through the
night.

Early in the night, the same animals Rani
had seen the previous night, came carefully down in the darkest
part of the night. They found the tree where the Terrans were and
moved silently away without being seen.

*

Some time later, as they slept on, a small
flyer was quartering the area, scanning and sending the information
back to one of the Flying Fortresses. It passed overhead on a
routine sweep, noting the presence of the Terrans in the tree. They
circled while the scanner ran through its identification programme.
The operator leaned over. The identifier read ‘Niseyen’ and ‘tree
dwellers’. The operator grunted, annoyed.

“What’s wrong?”

“This useless scanner says ‘Niseyen’.

“Well that’s possible.”

“Up a tree?!”

“Oh. Who programmed it?”

“I don’t know. An idiot. What do I do?”