the Runner

PARTITIONS ARE GONE.

  THE OBSERVATION TOWER HAD BEEN SEVERELY DAMAGED.

  THE NORTH MALL HAS BEEN -

  "Okay DOC!" cried Kevn. "That's enough! I'm trying to contact Sal. Sal? Can you hear me?" The static seemed to clear for only a moment, enough for Kevn to hear Sal say:

  "Dolom is dead."

  Kevn collapsed back into his chair, exhausted. Dolom was their last hope.

  But where was Runr? He looked at the monitor. Another message had arrived:

  RUNR IS OUR KEEPER.

  HE IS NOT ON AFRIA.

  Kevn groaned then jumped to his feet. He must rescue Sal. His brother wouldn't survive the storm if he stayed on Black Mountain.

  FIRST CITIZEN, THERE IS -

  "DOC! I'm not interested in damage reports! Tell the citizens to stay in the vaults. I'm going to get Sal."

  A TRANSWORLD VESSEL APPROACHES boomed DOC.

  Kevn was on his way out the door. He stopped and looked back at the console. "A transworld vessel? Can you identify the vessel?"

  WE CANNOT. IT IS ALIEN IN NATURE

  Kevn paused for a moment.

  "DOC ... talk to the vessel. Say something, anything. Tell them not to land. I don't have time to provide a welcoming committee."

  Kevn rushed through the dissolving door too soon. He was thrown back into the room. He rubbed his nose and waited for the door to completely dissolve, then rushed out. He didn't hear DOC:

  THE VESSEL HAS LANDING

  By the time he had reached the exitport, DOC had notified him of the vessel's descent onto landing pad three. Kevn would drive his skooter past the pad and warn them to depart. They surely must have noticed the storm. Why on Earth had they landed at a time like this? Kevn drove the skooter down the ramp and out onto the Barrens. Then he stopped.

  The suns shone warm and the Dolom Mountains stood on the horizon beneath a clear blue sky. The storm had gone. On landing pad three was a large space vessel, bright blue. Kevn stared for some time. This was some sort of miracle. He headed for the landing pad. Who were the strangers?

  When he arrived the stairway had unfolded below the vessel and several tall figures were descending. Kevn jumped out of his skooter and ran to the foot of the stairway.

  He looked up at the tall black Afrians. Four descended and turned to wait. At the top of the stair appeared another figure with flowing blue robe and rust-colored curls which rose in a wild flurry above his head in the light wind. The four Afrians bowed and began to sing as Runr slowly, regally, descended the stairs. Kevn stood, mouth open. Runr saw the First Citizen and leapt to the ground, ran to Kevn and pulled him into his long arms. Kevn was smiling. Runr was at least two meters tall and completely engulfed Kevn. The other Afrians were still bowing, singing and looking at their keeper, quizzically.

  "Runr ... am I glad to see you," cried Kevn. "I assume you put a stop to this storm."

  "Yes, master Kevn," answered the tall handsome youth, looking down at Kevn.

  "Well, I was on my way to Dolom Mountains. Sal is stuck there. I was going to -"

  "Master Kevn, Sal is returning to the Dome. He will be here soon. He leaves the body of Dolom. I will go to the Black Mountain now. When I return I would like to see Gry and Lori. Could you arrange that, please?"

  Kevn stood back and gazed up at the runner. He had changed. He was no longer a boy. Kevn looked at the other Afrians. They continued to bow and sing. This boy, this man, Runr was clearly someone of importance to the Afrians. He was ... what had they called them? The keeper.

  "Arrange that? Yes, of course. Lori and Gry will be delighted to see you. Gry will probably insist on making greenstew in honor of your -"

  "Master Kevn? Please, ask Gry not to make greenstew. I will bring the meal. I am sure Lori will be pleased. Tonight we will eat as Afrians."

  Runr turned and spoke to the others, a low wail, rising and falling. They immediately returned to the space vessel and Runr followed as Kevn watched. Runr turned briefly before the doors closed and waved slowly to Kevn and within a few minutes the space vessel rose and swept toward Dolom Mountains.

  Kevn smiled. Lori would not recognize her son. Gry would burst with pride; he would tell of how everything the boy knew was due to his, Gry's, careful teachings. When the vessel was no longer visible Kevn turned, climbed into his skooter and headed for the Dome.

  ______________________________________________________

  When Sal reached Gry's rooms he saw the four tall Afrians standing at the door. They bowed as he approached and the door dissolved to let him through. Sal stepped into the room and was greeted by Lori who threw her arms around him.

  "Sal, I'm so glad you're not hurt. Do you see who we have? Our Runr had come Home!"

  Lori turned and gazed at the young man sitting at the table with Cori on his knee. Gry took the child and Runr rose and extended his hand and Sal shook it.

  "Well Runr, you got here just in time. I don't know what we would have done if you hadn't arrived."

  "I am pleased to have been of assistance," said Runr.

  "I understand you returned to the Black Mountain," Sal said. "I buried Dolom. He would have wanted to stay there, with his cats and his mountain. I don't suppose -"

  "Wait, sit down," said Gry. "Have a chalice of hot brandy. Sal, you wouldn't believe the stuff that Runr's brought. Look at this."

  Gry picked up a large red fruit and held it out to Sal. The table was filled with fruit, red and green. There was a large bowl with chunks of meat. Sal could taste the meat from the aroma alone. Another silver container was filled with wedges, pale white.

  "Cheese!" cried Gry. "You should taste it! Terrific! And look at these!" Gry held up loaves of bread streaked with black. "Bread ... with seeds of some sort; Afrian bread." Gry looked very proud. "Like father like son," he said. "I invent foodstuffs and my son - look at what he grows - look what he raises on Afria! Ain't that something?" Kevn looked on, grinning.

  They all sat and ate heartily, grunting their approval of the meal. Runr ate very little. After a time he rose and brought a small basket of food to the Afrians outside the door. When he returned, Kevn wiped his mouth and spoke.

  "Runr, we are fortunate that you were on your way to visit us. I tried to get in touch -"

  "It was not to visit. I came to stop the storm, to tame Black Mountain."

  "To tame ... ?" began Gry. "It would take ... uh, five weeks to get here. How did you know about the storm?"

  Runr rose to his feet. Lori gazed up at her son. He was a beautiful boy. Runr said, "I had a dream. It told of the death of Dolom. It told of the anger, the sadness, the violence of the Black Mountain."

  Kevn looked at Sal. Sal shrugged.

  "Tell me Runr," said Kevn. "How long ago was this dream?"

  "Five weeks ago. I knew I must come to Home planet. I left at once."

  "But the storm didn't even start until a few days ago," said Sal. "How could you -"

  "My dreams - they tell of what is to come," said Runr.

  Lori clapped her hands and they all looked at her. "I remember your dream , when we were visiting Afria. Do you remember?"

  "Yes," said Runr. "I did not understand the dreams then. Now I understand." Did he really understand them all? He thought of his most recent dreams, of the galaxian maw that sucked up the stars. Perhaps he was wrong, so he would say nothing of this.

  Gry walked about the table and filled the chalices. He sat and nervously pulled his rings. On his left ear was a particularly large ring: a slender drop of glowing blue crystal. Runr saw Gry's elation and smiled.

  "Tell us about Afria," said Kevn. "Captain Cruder told us that you had returned. How? What's Afria like now? How has it changed since we were there?"

  Runr sat on the floor, crossed his legs and began the story of his African adventures with Captain Cruder, of the village in the volcano, of its destruction in the volcanic eruption and his escape, of the community of Afrians who l
ived in the canyon among the crystals. He told them of the departure of his group of Afrians on Earth for the planet Afria and how that planet had welcomed them. Afria was now a paradise; verdant jungles, snowcapped mountains, clear blue waters and hundreds of square kilometers of plants and vegetables and fruit trees. The city of the old Afrians had been completely restored to its original splendor. Much of the reforming of the landscape was performed by the planet itself.

  Lori clapped delightedly. "Oh Runr. How happy we are for you."

  Gry leaned forward. "We often wondered how you ... uh, got to C-phon3."

  "Yes," said Runr. "My parents took me there, to Afria-gamma. They were Afrians on Earth. They had a dream, that their child could tame the planets, Afria and her sister planets. They left me there, on gamma, but did not stay. I do not know why, or what became of them. I think they died soon after we landed on gamma. I do not remember them. The beast cannot remember them either - nor the planet."

  "The beast - have you been to C-phon3 ... uh, Afria-gamma again? Have you seen the beast again?" said Gry.

  "Yes, I have seen the beast again. He lives on yellow berries. There were no yellow berries on Afria. We brought them from gamma and I instructed Afria to make the berries flourish. The beast now lives on Afria, but he is very old. My people take very good care of him but soon he will die. We searched for others of his kind - to give him a companion, a mate. There are none on either Afria or gamma. I fear that his kind will die with him."

  "What about you, Runr?" asked Lori. "Do you have a - a mate?"

  Runr smiled. "Yes, I have a mate ... and a daughter, on Afria."

  Lori jumped up and down. "Oh Runr, how lovely!"

  "Your daughter," said Kevn, "does she have your powers, your ability to speak to the planet?"

  Runr smiled proudly. "Yes. She is but one year old but my daughter will one day become the keeper. Her powers to control the planet will one day be greater than mine. My people worship her. She is indeed a miracle child."

  Gry walked over to Runr and extended his hand. "Congratulations my boy. Do you have any pictures of this ... uh, mate of yours?"

  Runr came to his feet and sang in the direction of the door. The door dissolved and the four Afrians looked into the room. Runr sang again and one entered and bowed deeply.

  "My name is Tawna," she said.

  Gry stared in amazement. He thought she had been a man but now he looked more carefully and saw clearly that Tawna was a beautiful black woman, tall and statuesque. Gry opened his mouth and Tawna smiled, a white gleaming smile. "Am I not perfect?" she asked.

  Gry choked on his words. "Yes ...uh, perfect."

  Tawna began to raise her robe. Gry stepped forward quickly.

  "Pleased to make your acquaintance," he said and bowed. Tawna dropped her robe, bowed and sang. Gry responded with a low whistle. Runr sang and Tawna sat by his side on the floor.

  Lori jumped up. "Please sit here, Tawna. Runr can sit on the floor if he likes. Please sit here."

  Tawna shook her head. "I sit with the keeper."

  Sal coughed to attract attention and they looked at him, waiting. "Runr ... did you visit Dolom's grave?"

  "Yes, I saw Dolom's grave. I removed him from the ground. I put him on a rock. The ground opened and the rock dropped into the ground - and the ground closed. Black Mountain has buried Dolom." Runr lowered his head and whispered. "He was a very great man. The mountain, his mountain, buried Dolom."

  "Dolom said something about teaching you to control the mountain," said Kevn. "Do you remember? It was when we visited Dolom."

  "Yes, I remember," said Runr. "Dolom had learned to direct the energy of the mountain, to control much of the weather on Home planet. But now Black Mountain listens to me, just as the Afrian planets, all the Afrian planets listen. And -"

  Runr paused, was about to speak of his dreams. Dreams of an approaching disaster. Dolom had known of it. That night in Dolom Mountains, Dolom had said, "The star-eater comes." No one had heard it; no one but Runr. But Runr said nothing. He could be wrong. It was hardly believable. Yet his dreams spoke of a star-eater, a galaxian aperture which wandered through space and sucked burning suns to its interior.

  But, he could be wrong.

  Tawna looked at Runr and smiled. There was silence. They all stared at Runr. The young black boy from C-phon3, the miracle child, was a young man. He had acquired mystical powers. He had lead his people back to Afria. He was their keeper.

  ______________________________________________________

  Lori cried openly as the Afrian vessel rose from landing pad three. It was dark and the sky was filled with points of starlight. Gry pulled the slender blue ring gleaming on his left ear and cried too. Kevn and Sal were pensive. When the vessel had risen a hundred meters a beam of light shone from the vessel K-47, was sitting on landing pad two. It illuminated a wisp of cloud.

  "That's TOM ... and LIZ," whispered Kevn.

  The Afrian vessel directed a second beam of light at the same cloud. The two beams shimmered for a moment then each went out and the Afrian vessel hovered, then rose quickly and vanished. They stood for some time in the cool evening air staring at the black sky. There was a faint hum and they looked in the direction of the Dolom Mountains. There was a glow, a gold and white glow above the mountains. Then it faded and all was dark again.

  Then, one by one, they turned slowly and walked toward the Dome, gleaming on the Barren plains like a jewel in the night.

  PART SIX