wash.
The surprise visitor’s skin is tan, scratched and scarred. Her arms are well defined by muscles. Strapped to her thigh is a large buck knife. She quickly steps toward Allan.
Allan squeaks, “Help?”
“What is this ?” The girl unsheathes the large, crooked knife from her thigh. “A boy? Crawling on the ground like a walrus?” she chuckles. “You need to be hung by your feet and left for Jibbawk.”
The orange salamander-person says loudly, “Oh, you’re always late, Asantia. But you’re just in time, I think.”
“He should be Tested,” croaks Roggy. “It is the law.”
Asantia laughs. “That’ll do him in. Though maybe someone will pay for him.” She kneels and takes a good look at Allan. “Prat got your tongue?”
“My u-uncle. H-he’s hurt.”
“I came for some cake with these two cotton-candy heads, and instead I stumble upon you. It’s amazing what comes out of the Waiting Place,” she muses. “I’m a little hard up for cash, so I’ll sell you to the highest bidder. I hope you can work. If not, you’ll have to be fed to Jibbawk.” She touches the tip of her blade to her chin. “Now how to get you out of here.”
Chapter 8
The Great Ship in the Sky
Allan panics and pushes himself back. His palms sink into the mud and he barely moves. Asantia pulls out a rope to tie Allan’s hands. He can’t look away from her rope as she approaches. Anger builds in his mind. Since he can’t run he should be able to fight. He’s got fists, one of which he clutches and holds up like a one-armed boxer. Too bad he was never taught to fight. He’s furious that he never was. The world is so dangerous. It’s only logical to teach everyone to defend themselves.
Asantia grips the rope tighter and comes at Allan. The talking dog growls. The salamander-people laugh and clap. The yellow one says, “Oh how I wish I could see this action. This is all terribly exciting. Get him!”
The orange one cries, “I hope he gets you a good bit of money. You can buy us tea next time.”
“Leave me alone!” Allan takes a swing at Asantia. How could he have thought these things would help him? How could he be so stupid? These strangers are two-faced and dangerous. Rubic had warned him. Everyone has two faces. The one face people show the world and the other they see in the mirror. When that reflection is ugly, the person becomes selfish and dark with anger. Since Allan wound up in a wheelchair, he’d see smiles and receive phony platitudes, but then hear people talking about him behind his back. Or they’d talk about his mother or father or uncle behind his back. More and more people are proving themselves to be governed by that ugly reflection.
Asantia closes in when she suddenly stops. She widens her stance for balance as the ground begins to shake. The ground rises and falls, almost like liquid and quickly loses its identity. Large trees topple as a roar echoes through the forest like a deep purr of a colossal dragon. The dog barks. His eyes widen like full moons and he turns and runs.
A crack breaks the ground apart near Allan, and another crack branches off. No! Allan reaches out and grabs a young sapling. Its shallow roots hold Allan as the powerful earthquake ripples through everything.
The two smaller salamander-people fall off their seats and stumble away. The servant trips and falls, gets up and falls again, but is able to follow his friends.
Allan uproots the sapling he is holding as the dirt loosens and becomes soft. He’s got to find something to hold onto. Allan spots Asantia’s thick rope. He pulls himself to the rope and holds tight. For the moment, the anchor remains hooked to a tree.
The crack that circles the area widens, causing a huge chunk of earth to fall into the darkening crevice. The ground Asantia stands upon, falls. She jumps away and grabs the edge of the table the salamander-people were sitting at. The table’s foot pedestal digs into the ground and
The surprise visitor’s skin is tan, scratched and scarred. Her arms are well defined by muscles. Strapped to her thigh is a large buck knife. She quickly steps toward Allan.
Allan squeaks, “Help?”
“What is this ?” The girl unsheathes the large, crooked knife from her thigh. “A boy? Crawling on the ground like a walrus?” she chuckles. “You need to be hung by your feet and left for Jibbawk.”
The orange salamander-person says loudly, “Oh, you’re always late, Asantia. But you’re just in time, I think.”
“He should be Tested,” croaks Roggy. “It is the law.”
Asantia laughs. “That’ll do him in. Though maybe someone will pay for him.” She kneels and takes a good look at Allan. “Prat got your tongue?”
“My u-uncle. H-he’s hurt.”
“I came for some cake with these two cotton-candy heads, and instead I stumble upon you. It’s amazing what comes out of the Waiting Place,” she muses. “I’m a little hard up for cash, so I’ll sell you to the highest bidder. I hope you can work. If not, you’ll have to be fed to Jibbawk.” She touches the tip of her blade to her chin. “Now how to get you out of here.”
Chapter 8
The Great Ship in the Sky
Allan panics and pushes himself back. His palms sink into the mud and he barely moves. Asantia pulls out a rope to tie Allan’s hands. He can’t look away from her rope as she approaches. Anger builds in his mind. Since he can’t run he should be able to fight. He’s got fists, one of which he clutches and holds up like a one-armed boxer. Too bad he was never taught to fight. He’s furious that he never was. The world is so dangerous. It’s only logical to teach everyone to defend themselves.
Asantia grips the rope tighter and comes at Allan. The talking dog growls. The salamander-people laugh and clap. The yellow one says, “Oh how I wish I could see this action. This is all terribly exciting. Get him!”
The orange one cries, “I hope he gets you a good bit of money. You can buy us tea next time.”
“Leave me alone!” Allan takes a swing at Asantia. How could he have thought these things would help him? How could he be so stupid? These strangers are two-faced and dangerous. Rubic had warned him. Everyone has two faces. The one face people show the world and the other they see in the mirror. When that reflection is ugly, the person becomes selfish and dark with anger. Since Allan wound up in a wheelchair, he’d see smiles and receive phony platitudes, but then hear people talking about him behind his back. Or they’d talk about his mother or father or uncle behind his back. More and more people are proving themselves to be governed by that ugly reflection.
Asantia closes in when she suddenly stops. She widens her stance for balance as the ground begins to shake. The ground rises and falls, almost like liquid and quickly loses its identity. Large trees topple as a roar echoes through the forest like a deep purr of a colossal dragon. The dog barks. His eyes widen like full moons and he turns and runs.
A crack breaks the ground apart near Allan, and another crack branches off. No! Allan reaches out and grabs a young sapling. Its shallow roots hold Allan as the powerful earthquake ripples through everything.
The two smaller salamander-people fall off their seats and stumble away. The servant trips and falls, gets up and falls again, but is able to follow his friends.
Allan uproots the sapling he is holding as the dirt loosens and becomes soft. He’s got to find something to hold onto. Allan spots Asantia’s thick rope. He pulls himself to the rope and holds tight. For the moment, the anchor remains hooked to a tree.
The crack that circles the area widens, causing a huge chunk of earth to fall into the darkening crevice. The ground Asantia stands upon, falls. She jumps away and grabs the edge of the table the salamander-people were sitting at. The table’s foot pedestal digs into the ground and
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