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Chapter 23  by Joe Bandel |
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It was Llana that caught the wolf bitch in her snare and feeling sorry for the orphaned pups convinced Tobal they should try raising them as pets. It seemed like a crazy idea but she did it anyway. She had a primitive animalistic aura and sensuality that was almost overpowering and frightening. Gradually Tobal felt some of that developing within himself. The cubs stayed with them and didn’t have the instinctive fear of fire most wild animals have. They loved Llana and wanted to stay near her. They barely tolerated Tobal. They spent the days out in the wilderness in extreme physical exertion combined with drawing energy from the earth and recharging themselves. In one day they did more than Tobal had ever been able to do in three days. She taught him to lope at a tireless mile eating pace they would keep up for entire days at a time stopping only to recharge and then move on. They practiced sending physical earth energy out and taking physical earth energy in. They absorbed it from the earth and living things and gave it back to the earth and living things. His physical body began to live and breathe physical earth energy. These were the things she taught him about. The life force and energy within all things and how to feel it and tap into it. She taught him how to purify his own energies and work with them to make them strong. She said she couldn’t teach him much more until he had completed the Journeyman degree. Nikki, Melanie and Becca each had their fourth newbies to solo. But Tobal made heads turn as he proclaimed Llana ready for both initiation and to solo. She was questioned at length by the elders and then approved to solo. There was a bit of grumbling but Tobal didn’t care. Llana was his last newbie and next month he would be initiated as a Journeyman. He was happy and that was it. Tyrone had soloed and he received his fifth chevron. Green grass was starting to show in places and the melting snow made tiny rivulets of water running down toward the lower foothills. The weather was beautiful and it was warm in the afternoon. Tobal watched as Angel acted as High Priestess. Tobal was surprised to see Dirk in red robes training as High Priest for the circle. It felt good and comfortable to see people he knew and trusted advancing into these positions. He found Tyrone and asked him about his solo. Tyrone laughed and said it had gone well except for the wolves howling every time he played the fiddle. He had gotten lonesome for company though and was looking forward to training a newbie of his own. The big news at camp was that Sarah, Anne, Derdre, Seth and Crow had all returned from the village and been waiting at sanctuary for newbies. Since they had been waiting for two weeks it was unlikely there would be enough newbies to go around. Several members had gone to sanctuary only to find a large line of people waiting for newbies. Zee was pissed, Kevin was pissed, Mike and Butch were pissed, Tara and Nick were pissed, Wayne and his student were pissed, Char and her student were pissed. They had all been hoping for newbies. Now Becca, Melanie and Nikki were going to be looking for newbies too! Zee and Kevin had decided to stay at sanctuary with Crow and his group. The others had come to circle steaming mad and needing to vent. They were glad the kids had come back from the village but it struck them wrong that Crow and the others could spend a cozy winter in the village and then just waltz back here and get newbies in the spring. Tobal’s sympathies were with Crow and his friends. They had been at sanctuary when the newbies were and that was what mattered. He had camped out more than once waiting for newbies. He hardly saw Becca at all. She was there to proclaim her newbie ready to solo and then came up and kissed him. "I’m going to sanctuary," she said simply. "If I leave right now I can be in line ahead of these others." He pulled her into his arms and held her against him. "I’m sorry it has to be this way. You’ve only got two more newbies to train. Then we can be together all we want." Her green eyes flashed as she smiled at him. "I’m going to hold you to that. You better really mean it." "I mean it," he whispered. "Now you’d better go so you’ll beat Nikki and Melanie. You know they will be right on your tail." Becca laughed, "We’re all going together. If we need to we will draw straws to see who goes first." He gave her a final hug and kiss and then watched as she headed toward where Nikki and Melanie were waiting for her at the edge of the gathering spot. He waved at them and they waved back. He missed Becca and didn’t really feel like talking to anyone else so he kept to himself during circle and the initiations. Later it was only Ellen and Rafe that were there to talk about what had been going on between the Circle of Elders, the village and the City Council. The others were probably on their way to sanctuary to try for newbies. Tobal simply felt fortunate he was done with all of it. Ellen told her version of what had happened the past week when they had gone back to meet with the City Council. "This time we were expected and warmly welcomed. They even had a conference room set up with seating for everyone, not just the City Council. The Mayor welcomed us and then introduced a Federation officer named General Grant." Ellen looked at Tobal and Rafe but neither had heard of him before. She continued. "General Grant addressed the room and reported there was classified research taking place within the mountain complex that he was not at liberty to discuss. He said several members of the city were involved in this research and knew of it. I saw several City Council members glance at each other nodding. In fact, the general continued, they recruited heavily from the city itself for people to be involved in the project due to the unique training each of them had been given before being granted citizenship." "Again there were several nods around the room and I was able to tell that none of this was new to the members of the City Council," Ellen said. "Then the general categorically denied that the classified project had anything at all to do with the lake or what had happened there. The military complex in the mountain had nothing to do with rogue attacks on clansmen and the village had nothing to fear from them. He was deeply hurt at the unfounded allegations and hoped improved communication would prevent further misunderstandings." Ellen’s eyes flashed. "I asked why we had been ordered to keep Crow and his group from the village and what made the general think they had the right to order us to do anything. The general reddened and said a mistake had been made. We were civilians and should not have been ordered to do anything like that. They should have sent a military unit." "When the City Council asked why it had been so important to keep Crow and the others away from the village the general said it had been considered important to preserve the integrity of the training itself and not compromise the intent of the requirements of citizenship. Open communication with the village would jeopardize the quality of the training the Apprentices were receiving and complicate the duties of the medics." Ellen stopped a moment before continuing. Her eyes were flashing in anger. "The general went on to assure the room there had been no bad intent and the interests of the city had been foremost in all of these activities. The mayor seemed content with this and asked the City Council and any of the circle members if they had anything to add before adjourning. I was furious at the general’s denial of military involvement and the City Council’s apparent acceptance of his explanation. But I knew when I was outclassed. There was simply nothing more that I could do." She continued, "The mayor was about to adjourn the meeting when something impossible happened. Howling Wolf appeared in the middle of the room out of nowhere. He simply appeared out of thin air and addressed all of us." "He told us that General Grant was telling lies. Then he said he would tell us the true story. He said that thirty years ago Ron and Rachel Kane were citizens of Heliopolis and involved in the creation of the social experiment we are all familiar with called Sanctuary. Their main circle and gathering spot for the Apprentice degree was located at the lake by the waterfall. The Journeyman and the Master locations are the same today as they were then." Ellen paused before continuing. "Howling Wolf said the social experiment was funded by the Federation and closely monitored within the mountain complex. It’s commanding officer was Lieutenant Colonel Harry Kane, brother to Ron Kane. Ron and Rachel Kane were the parents of Tobal Kane who is now soon to enter Journeyman status. There were whispers around the room at this as several City Council members looked at each other." "Then Howling Wolf explained the Sanctuary program was just a front for a type of much more advanced research, namely time travel. Some gasps filled the room and I noticed there were several white faces including the general’s." She looked at Tobal. "He said Ron and Rachel Kane created a machine capable of sending a person forward in time into the future or backward into the past. The problem was Ron and Rachel were the only ones that could use it. It wouldn’t work for anyone else and no one knew why." "Ron and Rachel continued travelling forward and backward into time. The scientists continued to think of way to improve the machine. Ron and Rachel believed it was a human problem and not a machine problem and worked in secret with a small handful of trusted friends. They developed techniques that would prepare an individual for time travel. The most important was the technique of bi-location." "Howling Wolf told us that he appeared in the room using bi-location techniques he learned from Ron and Rachel Kane and has been teaching to his own students since that time. There were gasps and hard looks on the faces of some of the City Council members." "He said the bi-location process does not require a machine. Time travel does not require a machine either. There was a small handful of people taught to how to time travel by linking with Ron and Rachel and then they were able to do it on their own without help. He said he knew of several others still living that were now doing this and teaching others how to do it." "Howling Wolf said the group was time traveling when the massacre at the gathering spot occurred. His wife and children were murdered and so was Sarah Gardner’s mother. Sarah is another Apprentice that is now teaching her second newbie to solo. Fortunately two of his grandchildren were not at the gathering spot and are alive today. They are also currently enrolled in the Sanctuary program. He told how stunned the group was when they arrived back at the gathering spot and found everyone murdered." "He then told how Ron and Rachel told them to flee. They were going to talk with Ron’s brother and find out what had happened. They agreed to meet at a specific location in history where they often met up before. The entire group fled and later tried meeting but Ron and Rachel never came. Howling Wolf got very angry and said his son and wife were hunted down and executed. He found out later that Ron and Rachel had been declared dead by his brother Harry and their son, Tobal was taken by his uncle to be raised." Ellen paused in her story to see how Tobal and Rafe were taking it. Tobal was very grim and Rafe looked almost ill. She continued. "Howling Wolf told how their group had perfected time travel without the machine, but the scientists had been working on it separately. Ron and Rachel were involved in that part because their machine had been needed to locate time periods and initially propel a person into a specific time. Simple bi-location was not enough. The military believed time travel required the intense magnetic fields the machine produced and they didn’t know about the secret research done by the other group." "He told how Ron and Rachel solved the problem temporarily by wiring themselves into the circuit making it tolerable for other humans by acting as buffers for the energy. When they were wired into the circuit others could go through the gateway and time travel. Lieutenant Colonel Harry Kane was the first one to successfully go through the machine in that manner. This was an exciting scientific breakthrough and many excursions were made into the past and present doing research on the nature of time itself." "Soon regular trips were being made every week. Howling Wolf told us the problem was that Ron and Rachel needed to be wired into the circuit for the entire time that the operative was gone and it was very draining on them personally. That meant the operative could not stay in the past or future for an extended period of time the way Ron and Rachel were able to. The military needed operatives to spend larger portions of time away on missions. The military was intent on seeing if it was possible to alter history for political power and influence. At least that was the military dream. Ron and Rachel refused to take part in any tampering or deliberate altering historical events." Ellen laughed. " Howling Wolf really had everyone in the room listening to him. I saw several faces on the City Council that were almost pure white. It was obvious he was telling us the truth. Then he told us Ron and Rachel remained the only ones that could successfully be wired into the circuit of the machine. Lieutenant Colonel Harry Kane and his wife tried it with disastrous results. She died and he was paralyzed for life. Ron and Rachel were devastated and Howling Wolf said it was then they refused to cooperate with any more experiments involving the machine. They already knew time travel without the machine was possible and much safer. They believed there must be some safer way of initiating time travel to an unknown location without the machine." "It was about a week after their refusal to participate that their bodies were supposedly found floating in the lake by Lt. Col. Harry Kane. Howling Wolf explained to us how this could not be true since Harry Kane had just been paralyzed and was still in the hospital trying to deal with the loss of his wife. He had suffered a serious mental breakdown at that point." "Howling Wolf swept his eyes around the room looking at each of us. He said the simple truth was that Ron and Rachel Kane were taken prisoner and wired permanently into the machine against their will so the military could continue to operate it. By being hard wired into the machine longer missions were made possible so operatives could be gone for days at a time." Ellen’s voice shook. "Howling Wolf’s face became very ugly and dangerous. It was frightening. He said this came at a terrible cost to Ron and Rachel and the drain on them was so strong they needed to be kept alive artificially. His voice grew low as he told us that now after all these years of being wired into the machine Ron and Rachel are dying and the Federation is desperate to find replacements for them. They know Ron and Rachel were conducting independent secret research with a small group and are searching for them and for the secret location where they used to meet. The rogue attacks are field operatives seeking for the old secret meeting places and actively discouraging clansmen from being near the lake at all. Then he said Tobal, Crow, and Llana must be protected at all costs so they don’t end up dying in the same machine Ron and Rachel are trapped in. He was just telling us what the Federation has been doing with their time travel program when he stopped." "There was a gasp from the room as Howling Wolf grasped weakly at a knife that was protruding from his chest. Then he faded and was gone. Four City Council members were grappling with the City Council member that had thrown the knife trying to subdue him. The general was staring white faced at the blood on the floor where Howling Wolf had been standing." Ellen’s face grew pale and she whispered. "We turned to look at the person that threw the knife just as blood erupted from his mouth and he sagged lifelessly to the floor. Protruding from his back was a second knife. The four that had been struggling with him stepped back wide eyed as they realized one of them was a murderer. We were all shocked and didn’t know what to do." "The mayor was the first to act telling everyone to stay where they were and called the police. The general was already gone and no one remembered seeing him go. The police and medics came within minutes but it was clear the City Council member was dead. The four other City Council members were taken away by the police. The mayor looked visibly shaken by what had just happened and turned to look at us." "He said things were much more serious than he had believed. He asked to postpone the meeting till next month. He said the City Council needed to do some investigating on it’s own first. He also said he was inclined to believe our story in the light of recent events. Then he asked us to make certain Howling Wolf was alive and give him medical treatment if he needed it. The last thing he said was that Howling Wolf must be kept alive at all costs." "With that the meeting was adjourned and we immediately flew to the village in search of Howling Wolf but were not able to locate him. Failing that we returned to the base at the mountain and made a report to the Circle of Elders." Ellen continued her story. "I immediately left to find Crow and let him know what had happened. Crow was with his newbie when I landed and walked over. I told him what had happened. He immediately excused himself and sat down on his pack near a tree. He appeared to be going into a deep trance and suddenly disappeared. I didn’t know what to do. The newbie was looking at me with wide eyes. I decided to set up a camp and start a meal hoping Crow would come back." "It was about two hours later that Crow suddenly appeared sitting on his pack at the base of the tree. He looked tired and angry." "He’s all right," he said "but someone is going to pay for this." Ellen talked with Crow about the details of what had occurred and the murder of the assassin. That made Crow’s eyes flash even darker with anger. "Someone didn’t want him to talk. Have you talked with Llana about this?" "Llana," Ellen said puzzled, "why would I talk with Llana?" "She’s my sister." Ellen concluded her story and looked at Rafe and Tobal with troubled eyes. "Things are getting dangerous and I don’t really know what to do about it. The Council of Elders is in shock right now and just wishing the entire thing would go away. They don’t trust the City Council at all and we can’t get in contact with Howling Wolf. I still haven’t talked with Llana." "Let me talk with Llana," Tobal said. I’m not doing anything this month until she solos. Perhaps I can visit with Howling Wolf and learn more." Ellen took Tobal on her airsled and they found Llana heading for her soloing spot. Ellen left him there to talk with her. Llana was not ready to let anyone have access to her grandfather, even Tobal. She had already heard about it from Crow and knew he was all right. She was seriously shaken by what had happened though and while she was relieved her grandfather was doing all right, she was not willing to risk anything that might further endanger him. "I need to talk to him Llana," he told her. "Why?" She said. There was smoldering anger and resentment in her gaze. "I haven’t told you everything," he confessed. "There are some things he needs to know and you need to know." "What things Tobal?" She asked quietly. "Adam Gardner is Sarah’s father and he can time travel too!" Her quick intake of breath showed how excited she was. "You are sure of this?" "Yes," he replied. "Your Grandfather and Adam Gardner could train all of us to time travel if they got together. I’m afraid the military is going to be looking for Adam now though and his life is in danger because your father said that several people knew how to time travel and were teaching it to others. Your father thought he was the only one left but he isn’t." She was silent a few minutes thinking and then stood up. "You’re right. Adam is in danger and he must be warned. He and grandfather need to get together. Tell me where to find Adam and I will go tell my grandfather." "No," he said stubbornly. "I want to talk with him." She tried to reason with him. "Tobal, I can be there instantly. I know how to bi-locate. We are wasting time and every minute counts. They could be going after Adam right now." Reluctantly Tobal agreed and told Llana where Adam lived in Old Seattle. She wasted no time and was just about to go. "Wait," he shouted. She opened her eyes and looked at him. "What?" "Take this," he whispered as he pulled the wand out and handed it to her.She looked at it silently a few moments and then her dark eyes looked up at him and she nodded. "Thanks." She said and was gone. Tobal was stuck in the woods without any supplies and worried about his friends. He was especially worried about Adam Gardner. He had come to like the old man and didn’t like thinking his life might be in danger. He didn’t want to think Sarah’s life might be in danger too. He was glad a few hours later when Ellen came and brought him back to the gathering spot. The next morning he set out for the village at the mile eating trot Llana had taught him. When he finally got there he was surprised to find the village really was a fulltime village. He had expected it to be more like a monthly gathering spot. There were guards that stayed and took care of things and some of the elders with highly skilled craft abilities had shops of their own. In addition some mothers with extreme youngsters took turns caring for the little one’s that were too young to be left alone while the others got together in groups and worked on projects and meals for the entire clan. There was certainly no threat to the city in this village he reflected as he walked among the shelters and admired the handiwork of the skilled craftsmen. He spent his days talking to the old timers that lived in the village and asked about its history and how it had started. Slowly he began to piece together bits of history from the stories the villagers told him. It was after the death of his parents that Heliopolis had become a closed city under Federation military control. General Grant was then Lt. Col. Grant and had taken over the program after Lt. Col. Harry Kane’s accident and forced retirement. There were several unexplained deaths within the city itself as well as the massacre at the lake. It was Howling Wolf that first noticed the deaths were those actively against the time travel operation and the machine itself. He suspected others were wired into the machine and died. The military was actively searching for anyone known to be working with Ron and Rachel in their own private research without the machine. Realizing the real targets Howling Wolf managed to warn several of their small groups in time so they could escape. None of that original group now lived in the village itself. Other citizens did not approve of the military occupation and formed the small village as a continuation of the social experiment his parents had begun. This time to include the elderly as well as small children in the formation of a utopian community that was an advancement of the initial concept. The military was willing to use the village as an official reason to keep a continued presence in the area. Later the City of Heliopolis was turned back to civilian control with the federation monitoring both social experiments. At least that was the official story the villagers told Tobal. Howling Wolf was the unofficial spokesman for the village and highly respected. He also acted as shaman and healer for the village and was training his grandchildren to take his place. No one had seen him for several days though. They weren’t worried because he always seemed to appear and disappear whenever it suited him. Tobal returned from the village in plenty of time for circle. There was light drizzle of rain making everyone damp and irritable. It was late morning and he looked around for Becca but didn’t see her, Melanie or Nikki anywhere around and wondered if they were still waiting for newbies at Sanctuary. He saw Zee and Kevin and asked them if they had seen the girls. It was Zee that answered sourly, "They dumped them off this morning to be initiated and proclaimed them ready to solo. Then all three of them left for sanctuary again. They didn’t even have the decency to stay for the initiations." "It’s not right," Kevin told him. "People are concerned more about getting Journeyman than they are about giving the newbies the training they need. Just rushing through the training and not even being there for the initiation is not right." "I’ve thought a lot about this myself." Tobal looked at both of them. "I’ve been to every initiation since I came here, not just those for my own newbies. I believe it is very important to be here and give each other all the support and encouragement we can." Then he shrugged. "I still don’t know how much training a person really needs. I felt I needed to go back and prepare Nick, Melanie and Sarah for winter and spent an extra month doing that. Still Tyrone and Crow didn’t need the two months of training they got and Llana certainly didn’t need more than a month."
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