Chapter 13
“RORY!” SHE SHOUTED and heard him call her name as he fought with the men who dragged him into another building. She was brought down a gravel path to the entrance of another small structure, like a ranch house and similar to the one where they took Rory.
The door opened and women wearing green tunics like hers drew her inside. Would they put her in a jail? What would she do then?
Inside the building, the room looked more like a sterile and efficient living room, not a jail. Couches and chairs made from similar fabric as her tunic and a few tables were the only furnishings in the room. No paintings or rugs, but the oddest thing of all, no ceiling. Four walls, but no roof. She could see the surreal sky. What did they do when it rained? Maybe a roof slid into place.
The woman led her to another room filled with ten beds, more like cots, neat and dormitory-like, five on each wall. Again, no decorations or personal items. “Rest, if you are tired.” The woman stroked Carolyn’s hair. “I will return later.”
Carolyn didn’t argue. What good would it do if she did? Once she figured what this place was about, she could go and find Rory. They would leave and find another town until they figured how to get back to the Druid Stones. She could put her anger and hurt aside for now.
The woman smiled and nodded, then left, closing the door. She heard a click. Carolyn checked the door and sure enough it was locked, some kind of electronic seal.
She flopped down on the first bed next to the door and looked up at the open ceiling—too high to climb over. Even if she did, where would she run? Great going, she thought miserably.
An hour later, the woman knocked at the door. “Hello, Nia? It’s Keeli, are you rested?”
Nia? Does she mean me? Carolyn wondered, sitting on one of the beds. Since she was the only person in the room, she answered. “Yes.”
The woman entered wearing a green tunic. Her blond, straight hair was tied in a long ponytail and hung in front. Teal green eyes shone with concern as she sat next to Carolyn on the bed.
“It was not your time to work in the garden,” the woman said softly. “Why were you with a red male? A mate has not been arranged for you yet and only a green male would be appropriate. Don’t you care for the survival of the colony?” The woman patted Carolyn’s leg.
“I’m sorry, it was by accident.”
The woman frowned, then smiled. “Oh, I see. The red male was there to fix something? The irrigation perhaps?”
Carolyn didn’t say anything, just looked at the woman.
“That explains it,” the woman continued appearing relieved. “After your mating, you won’t have to worry about punishment if you are seen with the wrong color. One mating and your duty will be done.”
“Mating is done only once?” Carolyn asked.
“Rarely twice, as calculated to maintain the optimal number in the colony.”
She dared to ask the next question, hoping not to alarm the woman. “I can only mate with a green male?”
The woman rolled her eyes and laughed. “As a gardener, yes. We do not understand all the details. I learned some from Arol, a yellow woman who works in the genetics lab. Your color was typed when you were born. To mate another would risk the genetic foundation.”
Carolyn looked at the open ceiling and asked, “What do you do when it rains.”
The woman shook her head, her forehead creased in a frown. “My, you are not yourself today. It doesn’t rain on Merra.”
Too many questions. She was making this woman nervous, Carolyn decided. Her thoughts spun. Apparently Keeli knew what rain was. Carolyn rubbed her temples.
“Are you in pain?”
“Just a headache,” Carolyn said. Traveling by ley lines was murder.
The woman frowned. “You should eat, come.” She took Carolyn’s hand and led her outside. Tables were set in a garden like a picnic with a buffet table set up with vegetable stews and fresh fruits in creamy sauces.
Her stomach growled. She filled her plate, then sat at a table next to Keeli and the other women in green tunics.
Glancing around, she observed that the men and women were separated and sat at tables according to the color clothing they wore.
The only mixing of colors were tables with children and a couple of women who sat caring for them. It didn’t look like there were any families or couples in this village or colony.
People didn’t marry? Not that she had to worry about that with Rory now, after seeing his true side. Still, the idea of not having a mate disturbed her. She wondered if other towns on this planet were the same.
Carolyn searched the other tables for Rory, but didn’t see him. Her heart clenched. She hoped to see him, a familiar face, even though she was still angry.
Placed in a desperate situation for such a long time, could she blame him for what he tried to do? Her predicament was desperate, and she’d been lying since the moment she met these people.
She clasped her hands together to keep them from shaking. Where was he? Was he being punished like that man in the garden said, locked up somewhere? Her chest tightened with panic. Now what? She had no idea where he was or what she could do to help him.
Keeli nudged her. “You’re not eating.”
Carolyn smiled and took a spoonful of the stew. It was quite good, lightly seasoned with fresh herbs. While she ate, she noticed the other women watching her suspiciously. Had the news spread about her being found in the garden with a red male? Horrors.
She smiled at them and they gave her slow smiles in return. Soon they would forget, Carolyn thought, and in time she would fit in or leave and find another place.
While she ate, she glanced at the other brick buildings around the gardens. Some looked like the dormitory structures, others were much larger, and she wondered what they were used for.
Feeling a little more at ease, Carolyn turned to Keeli and asked, “Are there other villages like this place nearby?”
“What?” Keeli’s eyes widened.
Carolyn held her breath for a moment. “Colonies. Are there other colonies nearby? Or maybe across the ocean?”
As a few of the women got up and headed toward the green dormitory, they looked at Carolyn oddly.
Keeli stared, her face looked sad.
“I’m sorry. Did I say something I shouldn’t have? I didn’t mean to offend anyone.”
Keeli shook her head, and Carolyn thought she would cry. “You’re damaged. You’ll have to be examined before you’ll be able to mate.”
What had she said?
“Don’t worry,” she continued soothingly.
Something told Carolyn she should do just that. From a large pyramid-shaped building, a door opened, and Rory stepped out with several men in red jumpsuits. They walked to the food tables.
“Finished?” the woman touched Carolyn’s arm.
“I’d like to have a bit more if I may.”
The woman smiled and nodded. “I will sit with you and wait.”
Great, I’m not to be trusted. She went to the food table, letting Rory casually pass her.
“We need to leave.” He picked up some berries popping a few in his mouth, looking calm, but his eyes shone with concern.
“How? And why?” She stirred a few dishes acting like she couldn’t decide what she wanted.
“The mind link with the Sidhe is very faint. It scares me to think how far away we are. The ley lines will intersect again in about eighteen hours. When one moon slips below the horizon.”
“I know the name of this planet. The woman named Keeli called it Merra. Just think, a planet with two moons.”
“Three moons. The third one is not visible now. And this isn’t a planet. The Sidhe says it’s a huge vessel like a sailing ship in space.”
“Ship? Spaceship?” Carolyn almost screeched. No wonder those women looked at her strangely. Her interest in science bubbled excitedly inside her. The ship must be in orbit around a planet. Could these people be from that planet? Or maybe one of those moons is the planet. She glanced at the sky and smiled. Her stomach did a twirl. Very cool, but terrifying at the same time.
Then the full reality of drifting in space somewhere unknown slammed into her. Every muscle went rigid and a wave of nausea hit her. She looked at Rory, trying to hide the terror she felt. “This is a spaceship,” she whispered.
He looked at her like she had three heads. “I be from the 1600s, lass. I only know what the Sidhe told me.”
She chuckled dryly. “Sorry, and I’m only a gardener, what do I know?”
He blinked at her with a mouthful of orange fruit.
“We leave eighteen hours from now? Where should I meet you?”
“Get yourself down to the beach, at the place where you first arrived, as soon as one moon begins to dip below the horizon. The moment it’s gone from this…sky, the ley lines should intersect again. We won’t be having much time.”
“I’m sure I’ll find some way to get away,” Carolyn whispered. She noticed Keeli get up from the table and strode over toward her. The woman’s face was lined with worry, apparently because Carolyn was spending too much time around a red male.
Rory must have seen Keeli too, because he turned away from Carolyn, but spoke quickly. “Carolyn, you have to be there. The Sidhe sent me urgent images. Not only is this our only chance to get back, but this ship will be affected by other vortices intersecting vital areas of the ship at the same time. The ship will be destroyed by these natural energy forces.”
Keeli grabbed Carolyn’s hand. “Nia,” she scolded, “you must not speak with a red male, until after your mating. A mate has been selected for you, but you’ll have to remain in our residence until your time.” The woman was smiling, but Carolyn began to panic.
* * *
Several hours later, Carolyn rose from a period of rest with the other nine women in the dormitory house. She washed in the house’s community shower, ate at the community meal and was directed to the garden to work.
In the garden, she climbed tall ladders and picked vegetables and fruit along the spiral poles and placed them in a basket as she repeatedly watched as one of the moons slowly drifted toward the ocean horizon.
She hadn’t seen Rory since the last meal and hoped she wouldn’t wait on the beach alone, or worse, travel through the portal without him.
About a dozen men and women worked the fields. What would they do when she started walking toward the beach? Beyond her work area, she noticed tall, dense orchards. If she had to make a run for it, the orchard would make good cover.
When the moon neared the horizon, she inched her way to the edge of the row she was assigned, and several heads popped up.
“Where are you going?” one woman asked.
“I’ll be back in a moment. Need a break,” Carolyn said smiling.
“You can’t,” another said.
“Stop,” someone shouted as a few dropped their baskets and approached her.
Carolyn sprinted toward the orchard.
* * *
Inside the pyramid building, the other men in red clothing handed Rory a list to check. He was supposed to inspect mechanical things to insure their proper workings and then mark off the list. He marked the list, but hadn’t known if the darn things were indeed working or not.
He stared out a window. The colony had serious problems and he didn’t know how to warn them or help without getting himself and Carolyn locked up. The moon had drifted toward the horizon. It was time. He needed to slip out.
He told the other man he had to relieve himself. Before he left, he wrote a note on his maintenance list and wrote another note and placed it in his pocket, then marched out the door. In no time, he made it to the beach. The moon dipped halfway below the horizon.
He searched up and down the beach. Carolyn was not there. “Damn.” He kicked at the sand.
Standing on top of the dunes, he scanned the fields. No Carolyn. If he left to find her, he might miss the portal opening.
An explosion shook the ground. He stumbled to remain upright. The Sidhe’s predictions were correct. The ley lines would destroy the ship unless the people moved the ship out of orbit.
A plume of smoke coiled above the buildings in the village. The sky over the sea darkened, the moon slipped out of sight. The ley lines were crossing.
He strode along the beach, hoping to find her. She wasn’t going to make it. A whirlwind of fireflies spun in a circle at the edge of the water. Carolyn, I’m sorry, we’re out of time, lass.