Well, that was a sight
to see. Everyone just stood there with their mouths open. It was like the
finger of God coming down and putting a full stop to the whole shebang. Garm
says it was part of the roof that fell in; couldn’t take the strain. Anyway, it
landed right on top of the Seesh and lit him up like the fourth of July.
Nothing left of him but a puff of smoke. Then the silver spout collapsed and
fizzled out like a wet firecracker, while Righteous in the meantime scrabbled
around on the floor like he was looking for a contact lens; and then he lit up like a roman candle and a
bloody great big wormhole opened up underneath him. And I really have to stop
swearing like that. Anyway, Dutch was over there like a flash on her flying
saucer and fairly zoomed down into the wormhole with Sweet Mary curled up at
her feet like a kitten. These people are crazy I’ve decided. Hang around them
long enough and you’re going to end up in a box. Then what happens? People
start walking out of the hole as if they’re on a Sunday afternoon stroll. First,
a couple of humans I’d not seen before…a man and a nice looking broad…and then,
would you Adam and Eve it……Sam.
Gennetta was torn
between trying to rescue the women in the pit or making sure that Sam didn’t
get his hands on Eric. She watched ruefully as Angelo and Belle, closely
followed by Sam, made their way up through the wormhole. Her priority however,
was the women because she had no idea how long the wormhole would be open, so
she could only hope that Eric could look after himself.
The task before her was
daunting because waking the women up was proving to be more difficult than she
imagined. It was very cold down here and even she was having trouble staying
awake. On top of that there were hundreds of thousands of women to rescue.
Just then a beam of
light came shooting down through the funnel from up above and there was Dutch
on her flying saucer, crozier flaming in her hand as she dipped into the pit
and began spreading a vast blanket of heat and light over the surface of the
sleeping women. Gennetta could see a sea of women stretching far into the distance.
They had a big job ahead of them.
Sam and Eric stared at
each other as if it was a remake of the ‘Gunfight at the OK Corral’. This was
the moment Eric had been dreading; his dirty past finally catching up with him.
And Sam…well, he wasn’t as happy as he thought he would be. Firstly Eric looked
like a scientific experiment gone wrong. He was hardly recognizable with his pouty
green lips and beefy lizard legs. Anyway, Sam didn’t have his trusty pistol
anymore and he wasn’t too keen on hand to hand combat with someone looking so
fit and strong and…..animal. And who knows what super powers he might harbour.
But the thing that kept
his thirst for revenge at bay was the plight of all those Ahram women lying in
suspended animation in the pit below. Sam might have hated human beings with a
vengeance, but he loved animals; especially Lizards, many of whom he had kept
as pets and found that he had a rare affinity for. Now there were a whole lot
of them in trouble down below and his nurturing instincts were in full flow.
“We needs help down here,”
he shouted to Eric. “You bring many pipples,” he said and disappeared down into
the pit again.
One by one the women
began to wake and were gently led out through the wormhole and into the
Cantave, where Garm, Angelo, Shim and the rest of the girls began moving the
women out of the Cantave’s environment and into the open air, where they could
be looked after and fed. Outside the gates many, many thousands of men were
standing awestruck as these women paraded by. Many, once over the initial shock
of seeing a woman for the first time, had no hesitation in pitching in to help.
Even the Contrata, who had immediately switched loyalties upon seeing their
boss come to such an inglorious end, lent a hand. The task ahead of everyone
was enormous as more and more women were waking up and literally being hoovered
up by the wormhole under the very deft and caring hands of Righteous Alchemy.
Righteous showed no strain of his recent travails and seemed in the mood to
hold the wormhole open forever, especially as Belle was there, hanging onto his
large bicep and whispering all sorts of encouragements in his ear. Righteous
Alchemy had never been happier in his life.
Then an unforeseen
problem began to occur. As more and more women were woken up, fewer and fewer
dreamers were available to power the wormhole that Righteous was holding open.
Righteous was the first to feel his crozier begin to weaken, but there was no
one near whom he could turn to for help. Gennetta and Dutch were in the pit,
Shim and Garm somewhere outside.
“See if you can find Angelo
or Gennetta, they’ll be in the pit, or anyone who can speak English,” he said
to Belle.
Now Belle might have
been a dizzy dame in her day, but when there was a crisis, she turned out to be
no shrinking violet. With the confident swagger of a train-boss, the little
pint sized woman walked into the pit and shouted with a voice that could be
heard back on Earth.
“ANGELO! GENNETTA! Righteous
needs help right now.”
Within moments Gennetta
was clambering through the hole and asking what the trouble was.
Gennetta looked stunned
as she listened to Righteous explain the problem.
“Why did I not think of
that,” she said and dashed off after the line of women being led outside.
“But we have just woken up,” complained a sleepy
eyed Ahram woman.
“I know, but the croziers are weakening and we need more sleepers to
empower them. Otherwise many of our sisters will be lost…and this time
forever.”
Within minutes a vast
ocean of women had arranged themselves comfortably by the roadside and in the
fields…and settled down to sleep again…one last time in the service of the croziers
that had kept them imprisoned for such a long time.
*
Everyone was celebrating
except Angelo, who stood morosely off to one side, watching the happy reunions
with envious eyes. The wormhole was finally closed and all the women were safe.
It seemed that Angelo’s story was the only one without a happy ending. He
thought he would find his Rose once they got to the pit but he was badly
disappointed. The last he’d heard from her was through the lips of a snake –
not a good memory. Immersed in his thoughts he hardly noticed a Female Ahram
who had walked over to him and stood quietly by his side watching him.
Eventually she spoke.
“My name is Hudura. I
have come to take thee to Rose.”
It took a while for
Angelo to comprehend what she was saying.
“Rose? You know where
Rose is?”
“Indeed. I have come to
take thee to her,” she said, holding out her hand. In a daze of disbelief and
happiness Angelo took her hand and let her steer him through the invisible corridors
of the Cantave.
“I am her Guardian,” she
said as they walked. “I have visited her in her dreams since she was a little
girl on Earth. Sometimes she remembers me – often not. Perhaps she will
remember this last time, I don’t know. But she has been asleep all this while
for that is the only way I have been able to keep her safe from the Seesh.”
“She’s been here all the
time?”
“Indeed.”
“And what would have
happened to her if the Seesh had beaten us?”
“She would have
continued to sleep - forever.”
After that he walked
silently by her side, lost in his own thoughts. After what seemed like hours to
Angelo they turned a corner and finally there she was, fast asleep on a bed
that seemingly floated in mid-air, a red rose on the pillow by her head.
“She still sleeps,” said
Hudura. “She has been waiting for thee.”
Angelo practically ran
to her side and leaned over, looking longingly down at her.
“Rose,” he whispered.
She looked so happy and content; it seemed a shame to wake her. “Rose.” He gave
her a little nudge but still she did not wake.
“Rose?” For a moment
Angelo was at a loss. He was beginning to panic when something instinctive took
over inside of him and he bent down and kissed her on the lips. He pulled back
and waited. There it was. A slight flutter of an eyelid, then more…then a
sleepy eye peeped out at him and Rose stretched and gave a big yawn.
“Angelo?” she said,
coming fully awake in an instant. “Angelo! Oh I’ve had such a strange dream.”
They flew into each other’s arms and hugged for dear life.
“I’ll bet you have,”
commented Angelo under his breath. Both of them had tears in their eyes. This
was probably the happiest moment of their lives. They just didn’t want to let go
of each other. “I’m just so glad you’re alright. I’ve been so worried.”
“The last thing I
remember was finding my childhood toys under that tree,” she said.
“That’s all?”
“Yes. Except for the
dream.” she said. “A silly one about a snake that came in through the window of
my bedroom, and I trained it to carry my dolls around on its back. Isn’t that
silly? I remember playing it a tune on my flute – the one I found under the
tree.” Rose gave a little shiver. “What a strange pet to have. What do you
think it means?”
Angelo just looked at
her with love in his eyes.
“Anyway, you tell me
your story. What’s been happening?” she said.
Angelo looked at her for
a long while, remembering her voice coming from the snake and how they had all
ridden on it just like her dolls.
“It’s a long story. I
think we should go and join the others first. They’ve also been worried about
you. Do you think you can walk?”
“In a moment. I just
want to look at you for a while.” She pulled him closer and kissed him on the
nose.
“Oh, and another funny
thing. I dreamed I was pregnant.”
*
The giant snake slid slowly
down into the now empty pit of dreams, its metabolism barely ticking over as its
temperature dropped close to hibernation point. Its tongue flicked out to take
one last sentimental sniff of the air, then it coiled itself into a ball on the
floor and went to sleep for a thousand years.
*
Sam found that the thing
he had come all this way to do…he couldn’t. He obviously wasn’t going to get
any of his money back. Anyway, he had nowhere to spend it now, for they were
all marooned on this planet. As for his besmirched reputation….well, that too
wasn’t going to matter all the way out here. And anyway, Eric had become a very
popular guy round here so he didn’t think anyone would simply let him take his
pound of flesh, especially Eric’s girlfriend Gennetta. This Portia looked like
she could disembowel him without breaking stride. She had no need to plead
about the quality of mercy. It was the other way round. So Sam found his niche
helping Eric and Gennetta to organize and look after the thousands of Ahram workers
who were now free to live their own lives and had no idea how do it; and the
thousands of Ahram women so recently released from their slumbers to find
themselves in a strange new environment. The breeding dens were also breached
and the breeding women released.
Righteous was happy to
discover that he was his old self again…in a manner of speaking. He wasn’t
bumbling about in the dark like a blind man anymore. He could now sense
people’s proximity and thoughts once again since the Doom had disappeared. But
instead of voices - for the wormhole, along with its wisdom, was fast
disappearing - his soul was now filled with beautiful melodies. His inner
landscape was no longer black but delicate shades of paradise. He saw people’s
auras like living rainbows…each one different from the next. Even Sam’s had
changed from an ugly luminous green and black, to a peachy sort of colour.
Belle on the other hand looked like a Christmas tree with extra bling – she
sparkled and twinkled like a mischievous sprite and changed colour like a
chameleon.
“What you smiling at my
handsome knight?” asked Belle,
swooningly stroking his bicep. Righteous Alchemy just smiled and smiled. All
was well in his world.
Noot remained Righteous’
right-hand man, but in addition he also found a left-hand woman in the
full-figured Murtha whom he had met when the Counsellor had taken them
prisoner. They took an immediate shine to each other and were rarely seen
apart.
The Counsellor as far as
we know was put on a strict diet as punishment for his part in the plot, and
had to walk everywhere for exercise.
Shim and Garm, the two
wallflowers of the bunch, eventually gravitated towards each other and in no
time were surrounded by a clutch of clever and able little Ahram babies.
The Cantave and the slum
city were by and large abandoned by mutual consent and everyone moved out into
the countryside. Some built little dwellings, though the good weather didn’t
make that a necessity, except for the humans who were still very shy about
their personal lives and needed a lot of privacy.
I say by and large
abandoned, that is, except by me. My transformation is starting to look real
creepy now and I don’t want to inflict that on all and sundry. Also, the pain
is more bearable in here. Being enclosed in these bone walls seems to help.
Besides, I have to learn to walk and talk all over again with my big feet and rubber
lips. This snout just isn’t a whole lot of fun. And my sinuses are blocked all
the time. I let Gennetta come and see me sometimes but not too often. Not when
I’m feeling like this. Anyway, she’s got a lot on her hands with all those
people. Seems I’m not the only one having to get used to a new way of life.
I get plenty to eat from
the gardens in here – even got myself a room with a view and a balcony; though
I don’t spend much time out there. Mostly I just roam around the empty halls
and corridors like a ghost. Dutch drops in for a chat from time to time. I like
that. We get on well. She’s nice and down to earth. Suppose we should call it ‘down
to Urghan’ now.
Actually it’s Sam who
comes to see me the most. Not to gloat – but we both know I’m getting my just
rewards. No, he’s got this old pack of cards and we spend many hours playing
poker; which is actually not so much fun because I have to let him win now.
Dutch and Sweet Mary
built an idyllic little house near a river, right next to Rose and Angelo. Rose
is beginning to show and never stops smiling. Sweet Mary on the other hand has discovered
a hidden flair for home making and cooking and has the comfiest, cosiest house
in the valley…along with an outdoor toilet and shower.
*
Dutch stared up at the
thatched roof of their little hut. A few chinks of light filtered in here and
there, but with the curtains closed it was as close to night time in there as
they were ever going to get in this valley. She sighed and settled herself into
the moss-covered double bed. She’d never slept on such a comfortable bed – or
lived in such a comfortable house.
Sweet Mary snored softly
at her side.
‘Life is strange,’ she
thought. ‘Who’d have thought we’d end up here together – in paradise?’
It was more than she
deserved. But she was finally getting used to her good fortune. Sweet Mary
moaned softly in her sleep. Dutch looked down and saw Sweet Mary's feet peeping out beneath
the blankets. She was glad they were back. She snuggled up
against her back
and put
her arm around her, feeling the rise and fall of her breathing.
Blissfully she drifted off to sleep.
Eric the ore-miner's old
smashed up space-ship lurched upward into the air as another cataclysmic spasm
shook the strange green planetoid, finally breaking the ship apart and
scattering bits everywhere as the ancient dragon awoke and shook off her many
millennia of sleep.
Spasms continued to rock
her as she began the slow process of uncoiling and uncurling herself for the
big event. Birth contractions rippled and rang along her gigantic scale
encrusted body…one after the other they wracked her great torso, hour after
hour until finally she gave a mighty cry.
Far below on the surface
of the planet Urghan, the Ahram and the humans watched with astonishment as a
new egg-sun began to shine in the sky.
*
“Oh sorry. I thought this room
was empty.” The cleaner began closing the door but the lady called to him. She
had been fast asleep when he had entered.
“Please don’t go. You can come
in.” She rubbed her eyes and yawned.
“Sorry to wake you.”
“It’s alright. I have to go now
anyway,” she said, gathering up her empty teacup. She looked around on the
floor for the teaspoon but couldn’t find it anywhere.
The man dragged his trolley in and
began unpacking his squirty-bottles and cloths.
“You from the party upstairs?” he
asked. He guessed that because she was rather well dressed. Probably a
senator’s wife or something. “Real big ‘do’ they had up there. Not looking
forward to cleaning all that up.”
“Yes.” She answered kindly. “A
real big ‘do’.”
“Bit of a disappointment though?
The expedition being cancelled and all. I was looking forward to it.”
Rose smiled wanly at his boyish
enthusiasm for adventure.
“They say the wormhole has become
unstable and soon it’ll close. So they won’t be wanting to go down it cause
they’re not going to be able to get back. I reckon it’s that Tartarus fellow’s
fault, with that crazy space ship of his, set the whole thing off herky-jerky
and now we’ll never know what was on the other side.” He chatted away merrily
as he cleaned. Rose stared thoughtfully out of the window at the wormhole.
“It’s a pity. I was looking
forward to seeing the ‘Sleeping Beauty’ go down the wormhole. Weren’t you?” he
said. He looked at her for an answer but her mind was elsewhere.
“Anyway. End of my shift now,” he
said, packing up his things. I’m off to
bed. Goodbye.” He wheeled his trolley to the door and Rose turned to him.
“Good night,” she said.
“Good night,” he answered. “Sweet
Dreams.”
