The Next Generation Part 5
Prophetic Dreams
By Krazy Sam
“Trann City looks even worse,” Maro remarked when everyone had arrived at the destroyed city.
“Give the boy a prize,” Sari muttered, “he has an unmatched talent at stating the obvious.”
“Leave him alone,” Lucca said, turning to Sari. She eyed the destruction, and sighed. “I really feel for the people who lived here.
“Me too,” Lana whispered, tears streaming down her cheeks. The five stared at the rubble for a long time, until a loud screech was heard. Robo suddenly became alert.
“My sensors are picking up a strong energy source directly behind us…” He stated. Everyone whirled around to find themselves facing a large beast, about nine feet tall, and with huge brown quills. It screamed again and prepared to attack. Sari gasped and thrust her arm out, sending a dark wave of shadow its way. The being’s quills stiffened. Lucca attempted to cast her strongest fire attack, but the energy didn’t come fast enough. The beast shot a few quills at Lucca, piercing her arm. She screamed in pain and finally was able to send a wall of flame to swallow the beast. She lay, clutching her wounded arm, as Sari jogged up to her. She pulled the long quill out, and put her hand over the wound. It instantly healed, and Lucca sighed.
“Twenty-four years ago, I could have gotten the energy quicker,” she lamented, “Take me home. I can’t fight any more.” Lana shrugged, and Vincent nodded.
“Me too,” he muttered, “I have to give a presentation on a theory I’m working on, anyway.” Lana once again shrugged and pushed the purple button on the gate key. Lucca and Vincent stepped inside the gate, and it closed.
“Where now?” Robo asked. Sari smiled and two cloth bags appeared. She activated the Gate Key, and the bags disappeared.
“Where ever we want to go,” Sari grinned.
“What did you do?” Robo questioned.
“Lana and Maro now don’t have to worry about bringing their bags home. I did it for them,” Sari answered. “By the way, Maro, you’re with me. See you, everybody!” Maro stepped with her, and Sari activated the Gate Key for a third time. She and Maro disappeared, and Tavi soon appeared, looking extremely dazed.
“Where am I?” He asked dumbly.
“Trann City,” Lana replied. Robo sighed.
“The polite thing to do would have been to send us back to Proto City,” Robo breathed. He sighed once more, picking up Tavi and Lana. “Don’t be alarmed.”
“Why?” Tavi asked as Robo began to sprint. He sprinted faster than any human could, and showed no sign of slowing.
“Who is this guy, anyway?” Tavi queried.
“This is Robo, also known as Mr. Prometheus,” Lana explained, “he’s Sari’s teacher.”
“I would really appreciate it if you two wouldn’t talk about me as if I wasn’t here,” Robo complained.
“Sorry,” Tavi and Lana muttered in unison. Robo emitted a series of robotic beeps, and kept running.
.
“Good, we’re back!” Lana cried as Robo gently set her and Tavi down in the back yard of Sari’s house. She suddenly gasped. “The key! Sari had it! What are we going to do?” She wailed.
“I have it,” Robo replied calmly, “She let go of it when the gate closed. I picked it up.” He opened the dome of the Epoch, and stepped into the pilot’s seat. Tavi and Lana followed Robo inside, and the dome closed.
“The times have been changed!” Robo exclaimed, “All of the times have been set to twenty-four years ahead, but the time formerly known as 12,000 BCE says 11,086 BCE! What was Lucca THINKING?” He shrugged and set the dial to 11,806 BCE. The Epoch hummed, and lifted off the ground, disappearing into nothingness.
.
“My time gyro says 11,986 BCE!” Robo cried. “Lucca actually made a mistake in labeling!” In the backseat, Tavi and Lana giggled madly. Robo sighed and pushed the time shift button again.
“Where are we going?” Tavi asked.
“560 BCE,” Robo answered. The Epoch suddenly landed, and Robo opened the large dome. He walked out with Tavi and Lana close on his heels. He walked for a mile, and finally stopped at a large hut. A teenage girl with chin length blue hair and a dull pendant then ran out and smiled.
“You’re back!” She cried. She stopped short of the group and eyed Robo suspiciously. “What is this?”
“I’m Robo. How do you do?” Robo greeted politely.
“I’m fine, but you’re really different,” the girl muttered.
“That’s because I’m a robot,” Robo sighed, getting a strange sense of déjà vu.
“What’s a robot?” The girl asked while inspecting Robo’s brass casing.
“It’s a machine that looks like a man,” Robo replied, suddenly remembering the first time that he and Ayla met.
“Uh-huh…I see…” The girl uttered. She tapped on Robo’s casing, and looked up at him. “You look safe. My name is Olana. What’s yours?”
“I’m Robo, and this is Tavi,” Robo said, pointing at Tavi, who nodded, “and this is Lana,” he continued, pointing at Lana.
“We’ve met,” Lana and Olana said at the same time.
“She saved me from the Makshini,” Olana said thankfully.
“Makshini?”
“The shape-shifter that feeds on human and roly blood,” Olana explained.
“That beast was one nasty creature,” Lana uttered in disgust, “Elena killed it with the Masamune.”
“Elena?” Robo asked.
“Sir Glenn’s daughter.”
“I see, so Glenn actually found someone,” Robo said thoughtfully, “What is Elena’s mother like?”
“She’s dead,” Lana muttered.
“I see. How sad for Glenn,” Robo breathed. He viewed the landscape, and his gaze focused on the fallen mountain. “What happened there?”
“Lao fell, and the mountain collapsed. Our friend, Roly, was killed.” As Lana uttered these words, a loud squeak was heard. Lana whirled around to find herself facing two fat, green creatures, and a dozen smaller creatures similar to them. Some had pouches, and others didn’t.
“Roly!” Lana cried happily. The roly squeaked and rubbed itself against Lana’s leg. It began to chatter excitedly, but Lana didn’t understand. She activated the gate key, and Tavi disappeared. Sari appeared in his place, and smiled.
“Roly, you’re all right!” She cried. The roly chirped.
“He got out with his family just in time!” Sari translated. She and the Roly talked for a while, and Sari straightened up.
“What did he say?” Robo asked.
“There are many beasts where his home used to be. He wants to know if we could kill them for him,” Sari answered.
“We’ll do it,” Lana whispered. Sari turned to Roly, and he leapt up in joy.
“He’s really happy,” Sari said needlessly. She led Lana and Robo to the mountain, and by the time they got there, the sun had set and it was very late.
“We should camp here,” Robo insisted. Sari turned to Roly, and he yawned. His litter was already asleep, and Lana stifled a yawn. Sari finally nodded.
“Fine. Good night.”
.
Sari awoke to darkness. She inhaled deeply, and stood up. She brushed her thick hair back and rubbed her eyes. The moon bathed everything in a cold blue glow. She silently ran forward as a cricket chirped somewhere nearby. Sari sighed and sat on a rock. Her thoughts were a jumble, and she felt no desire to stand up again. She was about to head back when a flash of blue light startled her. She stood up, and walked toward the light.
“What’s that?” She whispered. She stepped to it, and a floating figure was visible. She looked closer, and she recognized the person.
“Tavi!” She screamed. He opened his eyes, but they were eggshell white, and his mouth was locked open in a silent scream. She tentatively touched the light, and it disappeared, causing Tavi to collapse on the ground. His body immediately began to shrink, and his pale skin began to rot. It shriveled up, and Sari could only watch in horror and disgust as he began to decompose. She shrieked loudly, and tiny red creatures poured out of Tavi’s corpse. They attacked her, and surrounded her. There was no way out for her. They covered her eyes, and she saw only darkness.
.
“NO!”
Sari sat up suddenly to a bright and sunny morning. She was sweating, and the front of her shirt was soaked.
“What’s wrong, Sari?” Lana asked with a note of concern in her sweet voice.
“Tavi…Tavi…Tavi…” Those were the only words she could choke out, and Lana nodded.
“We’ll get Tavi down here. No problem!” Lana said brightly. She activated the Gate Key, and Robo disappeared, with Tavi back in his spot.
“Hi! What’s up?” He cried cheerily.
“Tavi!” Sari screamed joyfully. She ran into his arms, and he hugged her without knowing why.
“What’s wrong, Sari?” He asked softly.
“Nightmare, I guess,” Sari whispered.
“Let’s go and help Roly,” Lana interrupted impatiently.
“Fine. Let’s go,” Sari breathed happily.
.