CHAPTER 10. DOWN THE RAVINE
Sweat poured down Toby’s face and made tracks on his dusty cheeks. The afternoon heat was merciless. The plateau offered little in way of shelter; the largest vegetation came no higher than his knee. He approached the edge and leaned over. The side dropped off into a crumbling shelf, like the uneven halves of a broken cookie. The ground below was so far away it made him dizzy.
Massive cavities hollowed deep into the rock of this shelf. One of these would make an excellent place to spend the hottest part of the day. He squeezed his tiny body down into the closest one, wriggling to make sure he would have room to climb back up if the drop to the bottom of the hole was too far.
The scent of unwashed bodies and molded food slapped him where he perched. Toby’s nose wrinkled as sticky hands grabbed his legs and pulled him down. He landed in a tangle of small bodies.
“Hey, it’s a kitty!” A shrill voice rose through the semi-darkness.
Toby blinked in the dim light. Children’s faces surrounded him, some tan, some brown-- all filthy. It was hard to tell girls from boys, features were hidden under streaks of red and yellow paint, and every child had long hair tied back from his or her face.
The tallest child yelled “Let me through!” He cuffed his way through the faces until he stood in front of Toby. A floppy-brimmed hat topped his straw-colored hair, and a metal “W” inside a circle hung by a chain around his neck.
The boy looked Toby up and down, then spat on Toby’s shirt. “Whatcha doing in our hideout, Cat Kid?”
Toby froze, too afraid to even wipe off the spit now dribbling down his front. The children stared at him. “I… I just needed shade,” he said finally. “It’s so hot out there.” His tail twitched.
The boy noticed the movement, and before Toby could react, shot out his hand and grabbed his tail. “Lookee here!” He yanked it so hard tears came to Toby’s eyes. “He really is a cat!”
“Cut it off!” yelled a little girl with a shock of red, matted hair and no front teeth.
The other children joined in the chant. “Cut it off! Cut it off!”
The boy reached in his pocket. Toby struggled to get a better view of the thing he pulled out. A knife gleamed in the shaft of light.
“I’m gonna have me a new hatband,” A grin, grotesque through the paint, pulled at the boy’s face.
No time for rational discussion. Toby snatched his tail away, leaving the boy with a handful of fur. Hands grabbed for his limbs and ears while he scrambled up to reach the opening. His pack was slipping off his arm; a child had tugged it free from one side and was now pulling him back to the ground. One desperate lunge and he was through the rock, his supplies left behind.
Heat blasted his face when he emerged. He raced down the wide mesa, only pausing once to look back. Children swarmed from the opening like angry ants, brandishing make-shift weapons. They ran towards him screaming. “Stop, Kitty! Here, Kitty!”
The mesa formed a peninsula-shaped cliff. Toby found himself being forced to the edge. His pursuers fanned out, arms outstretched, almost upon him. Then his foot hit a clump of loose gravel and he fell. Everything slowed down. Grab for a bush. Miss. Knee hits a rock. Pain. Roll again and again, down the cliff for all eternity. One more thud. Movement stopped, then waves of pain, only pain.
He curled into a ball, afraid to survey the extent of his injuries. From the beginning of his journey and through every adventure, he had never shed a tear for himself. Now he sobbed into his tiny hands with abandon, the sort of torrent which only comes in the worst of times and feels like it will never end.
The flood finally ebbed and became short hiccups. Toby sat up stiffly, wiping his tears with his tail. This reminded him of how he had nearly lost his furry appendage and almost started him off again.
Toby coaxed his battered parts to work together and raise him to his feet. His shoulder blazed with pain and blood oozed from small cuts and scrapes, but he was whole. He could walk. The top of the cliff was invisible from where he stood. No heads peeked over the edge, no erratic voices floated down. The children must figure he was dead. They had stolen his most valuable possession anyway, his pack. How would he make it home?
“Trust me,” the Voice whispered inside. “I will see you through.”
“See me through!” Toby shouted, “See me through? Look where you led me! If you really cared, why would you lead me into this pain? I have no food, no shelter… I don’t know if I can even get out of this ravine!”
The sunlight glinted on a shiny object under a bush. His canteen. Now Toby remembered- he had strapped it to his waist so he could fit more food into his pack.
He stumbled to the bush and picked up the small container. Incredible! It was undamaged. He shook it, and the magical sound of sloshing water filled his ears. He moved forward, listening. Yes, another sound answered the first. Through the brush, a stream bubbled from the rocks.
He bathed his wounds in the cold water and wished for the medicine Gramble Howard gave him when he was hurt, medicine that could take ailments away in an instant. Pain or not, he would survive.
With every stumble and jolt of discomfort, he remembered the savage children and what they intended to do. Reality washed over him. The tumble down the cliff had probably saved his life.
He followed the stream for over an hour and finally emerged back out on the road. The heat had lost its intensity and evening sounds began to settle over him. Toby knew it would be time to turn for home soon. He considered the boy who had begun this journey and found it hard to recognize himself. This world of up above swirled with colors and emotion, beauty and untold sorrow. Survivors had been found, friendships were forged with amazing people. When thoughts of the countless lives lost in the disaster rose up, he hastily tried to think of other things. One thing he hadn’t found: who had been responsible and why these terrible acts had been committed. A bright glimmer shone through the wreckage; life remained, it could not be entirely snuffed out.
Half of his quest remained unfinished. He wondered if this idea of a Creator was a mere pipe-dream, a child’s castle in the air, never to be realized. Did he, Toby, possess a mortal soul? His steps became slower with every discouraging idea until he found himself standing in the middle of a field with no memory of how he came to be there. Bright stars bled through a dark sky, spilling light on his upturned face.
He raised his small hands to those lights, feeling almost as ridiculous as the man who waited for his car to evolve. Night breezes tickled his cheeks like the phantom whiskers he sometimes thought should be there.
“Toby, my child.” This time the words echoed around him, swirled through the tall grass, reached up to tickle his nose with such tangible realness he almost reached out to pluck them from the air. Such majestic tones, like he always wished a father could be. So full of love Toby thought his heart might burst from joy.
For several moments, Toby forgot what his lips were meant to do. Finally, he remembered. “Yes, Awesome One, I am Toby.”
“Toby,” the Voice repeated, making Toby wonder if he had ever truly heard his name spoken until this moment. “It is time for you to know who I Am.”
Toby gathered his courage into a bundle and poured out the results. “Sir, I know I am just a hodgepodge of parts forged by lonely old people who wanted a grandchild. I will never be of much use to anyone, but I have to know. Is there a chance? Do I have a soul in my deep inside? I must have something, it is the most powerful thing I have ever experienced… until…“ His voice dropped to a whisper, “until this moment.”
The Voice laughed. He laughed! “Oh, Little One, I fashioned the earth, the skies, and yes, even your friend’s rocky seat. With great sorrow I watched my children destroy one another in a race for power and greed. I knew of your grambles schemes to create you even before they plotted them.
“So I made plans of my own. While they strung borrowed DNA like random beads on a wire, it was I who knit you together. I caused your tiny heart to beat
with good will and care for your fellow man. I gave you clear vision and the desire to seek out the beautiful things left in this tired world. No breath is taken unless I deem it to be so. Therefore, I breathed life into your being and, at the same time, gave you a soul.”
Toby fell to the ground in reverence, tears of joy and love dripping into the grass. At last he knew the God he sought. For a long time he lay there, allowing the Creator’s majestic Spirit to pour over him in waves of comfort and love.
When he could think to speak again he said, “Lord, what should I do now?”
“Because you have accepted my love into your heart, you will come to live with me someday in my Kingdom. Until then, I have a message for you to share with all who listen. I Am. I Am the Creator. I Am in control, and my love has no limits or boundaries. To become my children they need only accept my love into their hearts, like you have done. You have already found the dusty books speaking of me, continue to study these and you will know me better.”
A peace settled over Toby. When he looked back over his childhood he understood God was there through every piece of his life, even before he was born. This love would always be inside of him and ready to spill out on anyone he encountered.
He stood to his feet. “I will do as you say, my Father.” He turned and walked back towards the highway and home.
THE END
About the Author
Angela Castillo’s first story, written at the
age of 8, was a tale about two children who
climbed a rainbow with gum stuck to
their shoes. Sadly, this story was lost to
humanity but several of her short stories,
poems and articles have been published
in magazines and online. This is her second
book about Toby. You can find out
more about the “Toby the Trilby” series at
www.tobythetrilby.weebly.com,
or “like”
www.facebook.com/tobythe trilby.
tHE aDVENTURES cONTINUE...
Only a short time passed before Toby missed the calm, green clearings near his home. Thick weeds and brush made the trail hard to follow. He stood still for a moment, ears twitching. Fierce, trilby-eating beasts could be hiding anywhere in the forest, ready to pounce. If not for his enhanced feline senses, he might be forced to turn back.
The highway, an obvious choice for most travelers, must be avoided. Most people he encountered would be hungry and desperate.
An hour of pressing through the tangle finally brought him to a little valley of pines. The brush was replaced by a thick carpet of needles. Toby paused to pull some of the snarls out of his tail and study the surrounding tree trunks. Thick and sturdy. He removed his gloves and flexed his claws. They extended like ten razors, an inch past each finger and thumb.
He dug them into a tree trunk and pulled himself up, hand over hand, fifty feet, until the branches thinned too much to hold his weight. Toby shimmied to the edge of a limb and leapt to the next tree. Faster and faster he flew, while the wind whistled in his ears. His tail streamed behind for balance.
After several miles of tree travel, he paused in the crook of a large oak to catch his breath and check his compass. A giant grin spread across his face. Sometimes being a trilby was fantastic!
Wonder how far I’ve come. He climbed to the top of the tree and poked his head out through the branches. The dull, gray thread of highway was just visible from his perch.
A hum drifted through the trees. A motor? Couldn’t be. Valerie and Mia had both lived in large cities, and told him machines hadn’t run since the great disaster. Surely they would know. But he had lived with the constant drone of generator motors his entire life underground. Nothing in nature made that sound. Only something fashioned by the hands of men.
Shouts rang out from below.
Toby climbed partway down the trunk until he could see the ground.
Children, some younger than himself, but mostly older teens, poured into the thicket. All wore rags and clutched weapons of twisted metal. Most kept running, some ducked behind large piles of brush or rock, and braced themselves in what looked like defensive positions.
A moment of peace. Everyone was hunched, breathless. Then a group of men and women surged in, all older than the first band. These adults were much better equipped with tight-fitting body suits and what appeared to be machine-made metal weapons. The air filled with shrieks and sounds of battle as the attackers located their prey.
Toby’s stomach lurched. He gripped the branches and flattened himself against the trunk. This tree still had leaves to hide him, but they were dried and rustled with the slightest movement.
Two people struggled below his tree.
The tallest man’s long, dark hair flowed down past his shoulders and blended with his black trench coat. He shoved a bright blade against the boy’s throat.
“Hey, look, can’t we work something out here?” The boy’s blond hair stuck out of a battered cap like withered straw. “We just wanna find out what the star thingy is too!”
“That’s what all you scum urchins say.” The tall man spoke through gritted teeth. ”’We just wanna help!’ ‘We just wanna be Moddies!’ I don’t have a second more to deal with your theivin’ hides, understand?”
“Come on, Leader, we have skills, you can use us! We made it out here so far!” The boy flattened against the tree trunk.
All other fights ceased and both groups jostled and prodded each other to get closer to the tree.
“Do you even know what ‘gasoline’ is?” Leader pressed the blade closer. “Or a fan belt?”
Sharp metal etched a thin red line on Blond Boy’s throat. “No,” he gasped. “But I can learn... I kept these kids alive. That’s gotta count for something!”
Look for more adventures in
The Further Adventures of Toby the Trilby By Angela Castillo
Excerpt from
THE FURTHER ADVENTURES
OF TOBY THE TRILBY
By Angela Castillo. Reprinted with author’s permission.
Available at www.tobythetrilby.weebly.com
and Amazon.com in paperback and Kindle.
Connect with Angela Castillo
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