Chapter 14: A New World

The three newly cured members of the council returned home, all troubled by everything that had happened to them. When they were dying The People couldn't heal them. The greater leaders of the council were powerless against these natives whom they were taught to hold in such great contempt from birth. One native, Gage Larsen, handled the sacred purple as if it was child's play. The younger council members, talked among themselves.

When they arrived at their destination they began to ask questions in open council meetings. They were banished by the president of the council who angrily denounced them as having become contaminated by the natives. They continued to talk among themselves and others. Soon they were in the midst of a great struggle. The council was split. The younger members walked out and left the older members sitting in angry silence.

One of the phones in the Storm house sounded its trill. Vikki answered it and hurried to her father. "It's one of the three members of the council who were cured last year. He says it's an emergency."

"Yes?" Henry answered the phone.

"We wish to return and join you," the now healed councilman said. "We have been expelled from the council for asking questions. The council is split and the younger ones would like to join you if you agree There are some others who wish to join also."

"If you are sincere, we welcome you with open arms," Henry told the man. "Why don't you all come down here and join us?"

"Are you serious?" the astonished voice asked. "You offer no objections?"

"Why no, why should we object to more willing hands to help us? We always need more help and with the way things are shaping up you will find yourselves quite busy."

Three days later Ralph burst into the Larsen kitchen. "What do you want to do about them?" he asked.

Looking up at him, Steve asked, "Do what about who?"

"We have close to three hundred people wandering around and they are all hungry and want to know where they are supposed to sleep."

"Uff da," Steve grunted. "Call Henry." He gulped down the rest of his coffee and pushed away from the table.

Gage remained sitting and called Vikki on his cell phone. "Vik, we got hundreds of people outside and they are all hungry. You guys know anything about it?" He grinned and listened to her answer. "Well you better ask your dad if these are the enemy. If they are we have our work cut out for us today." He disconnected and his phone rang immediately.

"This is Henry Storm, let me speak to your father."

"Hey, Dad, Mister Storm wants to talk to you." Gage yelled at his father's retreating back.

Steve hurried back in from the back porch and accepted Gage's phone from him, "Henry, do you know what this is all about?"

"I may have blundered," Henry answered. " I invited those three councilmen who were healed to come back and help us. They said something about some others coming along and I said it would be fine."

"Well, you better get out your extra coffee pot. Ralph says there are about three hundred people who want to be fed and a place to sleep." Steve disconnected and handed the cell phone back to his son.

Linda came into the kitchen. "I just called a couple of caterers and they are sending out two trucks fully loaded with food. It's going to be expensive, real expensive."

"I'm glad I have you as my wife," Steve kissed her and said, "You better make arrangements for lunches and dinners. I think we just got too much of a good thing."

Ralph saw Steve come out on the back porch. "Look out there!" he exclaimed. "What are we going to do?"

"Linda just ordered two catering trucks full of food to be brought out here for starters. It should be here in an hour or so. Tell your security people to be polite and explain to all these new people we didn't expect so many all at one time. Have your guys tell them food is on its way and we will just have to rent some tents, big ones for them to sleep in temporarily."

"We'll have to send them all home for now. Later on maybe we can do something. But right now we just don't have any way to handle all those people.

"I called the Porta-Potty people and they have ten of their units on the way," Linda called from the kitchen door. "You think it's enough?"

"Great idea," Steve answered. "Better call around and get some more if you can find them."

Henry came riding up on his bike. "What are we going to do? This is a disaster!" he said as he got off. He seemed totally confused. Numbers and money accounts he could handle. A great crowd of people all wanting to join him scared him.

Down in the tunnel another crises was developing. Gage called to Dog, "You better get over here and quick." He had been sitting on the floor in the doorway to where the purple slabs were stacked. In the following weeks after the discovery of the roomful of the slabs Gage spent nearly all his waking hours staring at them, trying to learn their secrets.

"What's so important?" Dog sat on his haunches.

"Vikki, you better get over here too."

"What's up, Gage?"

Aloud so Vikki could be in the discussion Gage said, "This purple is different from the purple of the sled. It's older, for one thing. And it is more powerful than the purple carpet up there in the old barn."

"Older in what way?" Dog asked. "How do you know this?"

"Because it told me." Gage looked puzzled and tried to explain, "It seems to have been here for over a hundred thousand years."

"Impossible!" Vikki exclaimed. "After all, The People have only been here for three thousand years. You misunderstood, you had to."

"Do you think you can link me with you when you communicate with this purple?" Dog asked.

Gage did as he was asked and Dog was amazed. "You are correct, I do sense a difference from the slab up in the barn." He seemed troubled. "We need to access the old records the Council has hidden away. I am very uneasy about all this."

"Let's go up and talk to my father. Whatever we have here is more than we can handle alone." Vikki turned toward the long tunnel and lightly ran toward the entrance. Dog followed at a slower pace and Gage more slowly yet walked after them as he tried to think about what he had discovered.

The yard around their house was a madhouse of activity. On both sides of the road catering trucks were handing out soups and sandwiches. A large flat bed trailer was unloading large tents. The security guards had their hands full maintaining some sort of order. Peg's team of young women directed foot traffic in and out of the house.

Vikki raced into the house and through the kitchen to the den where her father was talking on the phone. Impatiently she waited for him to hang up. Her mother came into the room and asked her, "What is wrong, dear?"

Just then Henry disconnected and turned to his daughter. "What happened, Vikki? Did you and Gage have a falling out?"

"NO, Gage just told me the purple in the small room at the end of the tunnel is over a hundred thousand years old. He also says it was left by others who were not of The People." Gage and Dog entered the den.

"Gage," Henry tried to frame his question. He hesitated too long and Gage cut in.

"Look, all I know for sure is what it told me. It said it's over a hundred thousand years old. Their numbering is different than ours. It's got thirteen numbers and not ten like we do."

Henry interrupted, "Get those three council members here. I want the men who used to guard the council here and I want your parents here also. We have a big emergency." His face turned pale and he sat in his office chair muttering, "It can't be, it just can't be."

"Henry, what is wrong? You look like you have seen a ghost," Ellen placed a hand on his shoulder.

"An old legend may turn out to be true. I must contact the full council and give them an ultimatum. Either they stop this foolish secrecy or we may all may be in great danger." He sat quietly and stared at the floor.

Steve and the three members of the council responded first. "What's up?" he asked.

"Wait till the others get here. I don't care to repeat myself over and over again." Steve shrugged and took a chair. The council members came next with the ten ex guards on their heels.

Henry stood and asked the group, "How many of you know about the legends of The Others?"

"One of the ex-guards spoke up, "I've heard the elder council members discuss the possibility they even existed. The only records they have of them are so fragmented they didn't really believe in them."

Another of the council members spoke up, "I have seen the fragments mentioning The Others. However they are among the oldest and most incomplete of all we have archived."

Nobody else spoke so Henry told them, "I want those records, no matter how fragmented, brought here. Tell those old men not only have they split The People with their blind, arrogant greed, but they may have put us all in great danger with their foolishness." He shook his head.

Everyone looked at Henry in shock. They had never seen him as disturbed as he was right then. "Gage, I want you to tell me everything you can about the purple slabs in the small room.

"Have Vik bring her laptop in here. We have a link using a tiny bit of the purple stuff to hook me up with her computer. It's all in there."

Vikki ran to get her small laptop. Her father was on the phone talking angrily with someone on the other end. She placed it in front of him as he said, "You tell those three senile idiots we will if we have to ... we will storm the archives and remove everything.

"Most of The People who want to be independent of the council are either here or they are waiting until we have room for them. Your foolish old men can preside over an empty council hall. They have one hour to answer. If I have not heard from them in one hour, one minute later we all move on Haven." He hung up.

"Man, you talk meaner than me," Steve said. "I don't understand who these Others are."

"According to legend, another race came through a portal of their own. They were horribly ugly things and resembled reptiles yet they were warm blooded. They were the ones who caused the Cataclysm. They attacked our one hidden cities and destroyed our portal. There was some sort of reaction and it destroyed them as well and supposedly their version of the purple material. I'm worried."

Henry jumped when the phone on his desk rang. "If this isn't a senior council member hang up." He listened and replied, "Shut up, you old fool and listen. Those artifacts thought to be supposedly been made by the Others probably were. The young man who seems to thrive on new discoveries has outdone himself. He has discovered enough purple material to build a hundred portals. The only problem is, I believe, it is not of The People. It seems to be of the Others.

"You are welcome to come see for yourselves. Bring everything you have about the Others. We must find out what we are up against. We'll be expecting you." He hung up.

"Father, press any key and start to read," Vikki told him.

The other members of The People crowded around as they tried to read also. Steve and Gage left.

Vikki followed them. "What should we do?"

"Well, for starters we need to send all those people home. Tell them we'll try to contact them later, that right now we have no way of feeding and housing them.

Henry came out on the back porch. "The whole council will be here tomorrow. I have turned my house over to them. Mind if we camp at your place? I swear, if the council tries any more tricks, I intend to declare open warfare."

"Henry, you scare me," Ralph said. "You are the most determined man I have ever met. And here I thought you were so like Clark Kent."

"Let's go into town to eat," Steve suggested.

"Let Vik and I off at the pizza place and you go eat old people food," Gage suggested. "Besides we got a lot to talk about."

"My name is Vikki. Vik is a man's name. Please remember." She grabbed Gage by the shoulder and nodded toward the barn. "See if it's okay to take your bike. Then we can come back when we want to."

Gage got permission from the adults and hurried out to the barn. Vikki already had his bike out. They got on and he started the engine. "We'll fly later when we're out of sight." They slowly putt putted out of the yard. He changed his mind and remained under motor power. He liked Vikki holding on to him as they rode into town