Boucher's World: Emergent Page 6

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  The flat stones in the stream appeared almost as if they had been deliberately laid out in a nearly straight line to the other side. The stones were close enough together, that if they were careful, they should be able to get across while remaining relatively dry. Jade almost made it.

  Just as they neared the opposite side, her foot slipped on one of the wet, mossy rocks. She managed to keep herself from falling but stepped in the shallow stream and arrived on shore with wet, squishy boots.

  Tally chuckled. was all he said, though.

  Jade shot him a dirty look. He had gotten across without so much as a wet whisker. It was a good thing, too: Tally absolutely hated getting wet. Probably a genetic hold over from the old days, before the Change.

  “You’d better be glad it wasn’t or you’d be sitting there dripping from the splash,” she said, pretending to be miffed.

  This little exchange managed to relieve, in part, the tension they were both feeling.

  She sat down in the grass on the bank of the stream, pulled her boots off and dumped out the water. Her socks were soaked. She had extra socks - in her pack sitting on the floor of the cottage.

  She sighed; it was grassy here, she could go without shoes until she got back. She got up and they continued to the wall.

  She unconsciously wrapped her arms around herself as she stared at the… door? No knob or handle, though there was an indentation where one would normally be. It was framed in some type of dark material all the way around. It was wide, maybe about six feet, she estimated, and about twelve feet high. Even some of the Elvwists could’ve walked through comfortably.

  She shivered slightly as an icy feeling slithered up her spine again. Tally noticed, and came over and leaned up against her leg. He was usually a pretty calm Cat, going to great pains to maintain an air of aloofness, but he was feeling a little unnerved, too.

  Jade reached down and laid her hand on his head, running her fingers through his fur, absently scratching between his ears; a comforting move he didn’t object to at the moment.

  She tentatively reached out the other hand but drew back before she touched the surface. She was going to have to work up her nerve first.

  “If it’s a door, how in the world is it supposed to open?” she wondered out loud. She thought for a moment.

  “Hmm, maybe it slides,” she speculated. She took a couple of deep breaths, stepped up and laid a palm - that only shook slightly- against it. As far as she knew, she was the first person ever to touch any portion of the Dome. At least no one had ever reported doing so.

  No one knew what the Dome was made of, though the scientists thought it was some kind of energy field. It didn’t zap her or anything, and it didn’t feel like their force shields, so she slid her hand along the surface. It felt slightly warm to her palm…and like nothing else she had ever touched before. It was like sliding her hands over a solid cloud bank. Sort of. A warm clear one. Maybe a little slick. Or oily. Or not. Okay, it was indescribable.

  She shook herself and pushed gently to the left. Nothing happened. She pushed harder. Still nothing, so she pushed forcibly to the right…no results. She placed both hands on it and pushed at the indentation thinking it might be some kind of latch but no.

  Crap! She got frustrated. Maybe she could break it or something? She looked around on the ground for a rock and spotted one that might do the trick. She picked it up, stepped back a few feet and hurled it at the door. And dodged when it came right back at her. Oops. That definitely didn’t work. She said a few choice words. She glanced back at Tally, making sure he hadn’t been hit.

  He was sitting there shaking his head sadly at her and she heard a mental ‘tsk’ from him

  he asked in what he believed to be a reasonable tone. He thought that had been a very illogical move on her part.

  She thought he sounded a little sarcastic but she went back and peered closely at the surface.

  “No,” she said, sheepishly, “not even a scratch. Uh, I guess that wasn’t a real smart move.” Frowning in disappointment, she stepped back. She certainly wasn’t getting anywhere this way.

  Shoulders slumped, she turned to Tally. “Got any ideas?”

  She was also thinking: Maybe the thing’s not a door after all. Sure looks like one, though.

  Tally studied the maybe-door with his golden gaze. He shrugged.

  Jade hated to admit it but he was right. She nodded. She saw the sun had moved into its late afternoon position. Damn. There would be no time to track down any more pests today.

  “It’s getting late, we should go. We have to get back to the camp but at least we won’t have to go thirsty. I’ll get the puri-tabs and the water pouch.”

  Thoughts of the bonus - and the cute outfit - echoed faintly in the back of her mind.

  She blew out a breath. “If this does turn out to be a door, there’s going to be a run on this area.”

  Tally couldn’t argue with that. He nodded.

  Jade nodded. He was right - again.

  They stood there for a few minutes longer, staring out through the transparent Dome wall at a familiar object on the other side: a big starship. They could see it rising above the trees, shining in the late afternoon sunlight.

  It was a sight that every being within the Dome had lived with all their lives. Several miles away, hidden from their view at this position, were three others, also outside the Dome spaced several miles apart.

  These were the ships that had brought their ancestors, deep in hiber-sleep, safely to this star system over two millennia ago.