Gaia Dreams (Gaiaverse Book 1) (67 page)

Jessica turned to face the two men, a resolute
expression on her face. "Go get Mrs. Philpott, Perceval, and Harry," she
ordered abruptly. "I know we thought Harry should be kept away because he was
shaking so badly, but she needs him. Get them and bring them out to the rock. I
showed you that place, John. The rock in the circle of trees."

"What--" John began, only to be cut off by his
wife.

"Just do it, John, now!" Jessica commanded. Then
wrapping Sam in a light cotton blanket from her bed, she carried her from the
room.

As she approached the trees, Jessica felt
calmer. This will work, she thought. It has to work. She laid Sam down in the
middle of the large rock, then climbed up on the rock herself and sat close to
her daughter. She heard John and Harry and the others come crashing through the
woods around them. Harry got there first, and jumped up to be next to Sam,
laying his head down on Sam's lap.

"Okay, whoa!" Jessica called out to the panting
people in front of her. "Mrs. Philpott, you come close and see if Perceval
thinks he should be on the rock with us. Mark and Alex, you guys stand back
some--I don't think you are as connected. John, you come stand here and hold one
of Sam's hands." Then she noticed Black was there.

"Yes, good, the Protector is here," she said in
a satisfied voice. "Come close and have White nearby."

As they all took their positions, a part of
Jessica marveled at her sudden sureness. What they were about to do, this felt
right. Even if she didn't understand it, she knew her actions were supposed to
happen.

"Now, in a few seconds we are all going to open
our minds up, clear them of all thought, just connect with the animals, the trees,
the rock. Mark and Alex--don't interrupt unless someone is in danger of dying or
something, okay?"

Mark just nodded dumbly. Alex stood close to
him, gripping his right hand.

"All right, let's do this thing and bring
Samantha back. Remember, that is the goal--we have to bring Sam back to us. She's
lost, I can see that now. We have to find her, and bring her back."

With that, Jessica closed her eyes and let her
mind float free, open to the trees...to the rock...to find Sam. And was
suddenly plunged into chaos.

The Farm

Clay was scared. Scared by the feelings that had
come over him earlier. Scared by the fact that Abby was no better. And now
scared by the phone call from his son, Nathan. Something was wrong with Sam.

He sat at the kitchen table with Gracie and
gripped his coffee cup. "Nobody there knows what's going on. They just know
something is wrong. Nathan says Alex told him they were going to do something
to help her as she ran out the door--something about trees and a rock."

Gracie's eyebrows rose. "Trees and a rock? Have
they all lost their minds?" Then she winced at how that might sound to a man
whose wife was clearly losing hers.

"It's okay, Gracie. I won't ever believe Abby's
crazy or insane--just in denial, just too scared. Like maybe we all should have
been in dealing with this. Samantha shouldn't have to be doing what she does!
Why have we all just accepted it, as if it were fine and normal?"

Gracie leaned forward and said intently, "Because,
Clay, this world is changing. Changing fast. And what Samantha does, what all
the dreamers and animal talkers do--this is what normal is now. We have to get
used to that. And, yes, before you ask, yes, I hate that Sam is such a focus
for everyone, that she seems to be the most changed one of us all."

Gracie took a deep breath, and leaned back in
her chair. "But even though she is my granddaughter, too, and I love her
dearly, I can also see what's happening. I've heard others call it the end of
the world as we know it--and they're right, Clay. The things happening now, this
is so new, so different from anything that's come before. And you and I, old
codgers that we are." She stopped and grinned lightly at him. "We have to
adjust to it along with everyone else. However, why-ever, it happened, Sam is
the most talented at these new skills. All we can do is be there for her in
whatever ways that will help. We can't run from it like Abby has done. We can't
ignore it, pretend everything will go back to normal. That way of life is gone,
Clay. We have to forge a new way of life, one that includes and accepts all the
amazing and yes, scary, things that people are learning to do. Whatever has
happened to Samantha today, we have to believe her parents and friends--and even
the trees and the rock can help her, I guess. We have to hang on to that."

Clay sighed heavily. "I know you're right. It's
just...Jessica? My imminently practical daughter? Talking to a rock?"

The Samuels' House – At the Rock

Chaos...swirling images, overlapping, fast...of
water, lots and lots of water...water with things in it....too much...oh, god,
dead, dead, dead, everywhere, the dead...pieces...can't look...cars, buildings,
pieces of buildings...too much....a presence...an awareness...too vast...so huge...too
much to comprehend...depths of knowledge...overwhelming...a sense of time...of
patience...time that stretched forever...mountains, trees, oceans, lakes,
rivers, and life, life everywhere...so abundant even in the midst of so much
death...life.

Jessica held on to that, to that pulsing center
that was life. And began to feel where she was in all of it. Her self. She.
Jessica. The purpose...find Samantha! Suddenly feeling the pressure of John's
hand gripping hers. Feeling the connection. Connections! To everything. To the
trees, oh, the trees, always there for her. The rock. Old, so very old. Slow.
Patience unimaginable. To the others around her. People, humans, yet their life
force, blended, connected to all. John, beloved, afraid for her, for Sam, but
always there, ready to follow anywhere, ready to forge ahead to see the next
new thing. There was Mrs. Philpott, so sturdy and strong and wise. Black, the
Protector, exuding safety, security, determination. White, seeing the details,
seeing so much. There was Harry, filled with love and hope and unending
loyalty. And Perceval, an astoundingly keen intelligence, such depth to him.
But where...where...where was Sam? Searching, all of them connected,
focused...but she was the center, the focusing point of the search. She. Her
self. Jessica. The mother. The mother of Samantha. The Guardian. Plunging back
into the depths now with more courage, feeling the connections to those
supporting her, loving her. Swimming through the apparent chaos. Apparent, yet,
patterns, patterns existed to it. Patterns so large, so complex...no way to
grasp them. Focusing, focusing, focusing on one thought...Samantha...where,
where, where...Ahhh, like a small glowing light flickering in murky
shadows...there...right there.

Calling to her, using her will to stretch out a
lifeline to that small light, willing Samantha to make the connection, to grasp
the thread that would bind her back into the tapestry of here, of now, of
family...of home.

Waiting...and then, a flaring of the light...connection
made. The light a steady glow, a gleaming radiance that streamed forth
now...Samantha...found.

And with a suddenness that was breath-taking,
she felt her daughter gather them all up, all the threads of that tapestry made
of their hearts and minds, woven more tightly than ever before, and with a
whoosh she was back. Jessica was back, sitting on the rock, holding onto Sam,
feeling John's arms around them both. They were home again. It would be all
right now. They would also be changed now. Stronger connections, I'll worry
about that later, she thought. Sam was back! And she was hugging her daughter
and all was right in this haven of safety, this small island that she now knew
floated in a sea of...not chaos...no...but something so intricate and immense.
An awareness, huge, and wonderful and scary and...awesome.

Mrs. Philpott's House

Perceval growled low in his throat as two
scampering children nearly stepped on his tail. Streaking off for the computer
room, he pondered this need of the group--Gaians, he reminded himself grumpily--to
want to live practically on top of each other. Two families had moved in here
after the welcoming party and subsequent crisis with Sam yesterday. Plus a
couple of single people who slept on couches. Ugh, just too many humans in one
place. Perhaps it was the feeling of connectedness most of them seemed to share
that was causing this need for communal living. He fervently hoped they'd get
used to it soon and move out! After all, there were plenty of houses for them
to move into, just sitting there waiting for them. Instead, the newcomers had
piled into this house, the Samuels' house, the Farm, Harmony's Cabins, and even
the Power People's house. Although, those who went there actually had a good
reason. An electrical engineer in the bunch! Some other techie types. They were
going to form a tech center at the power plant and at their new home.

He perched on the desk in front of his laptop
computer and scrolled through his lists. Yes, today they would finally be
getting a true farmer, someone who knew about planting and growing and
harvesting things like wheat. And it looked like Cap'n Joe would get some
company out at his fishing village. That guy, thought Perceval, so completely
unaware. He'd shown up after all the excitement was over yesterday with an
impressive array of fish to be grilled (or eaten raw by Perceval himself) and
had not a clue anything untoward had happened earlier. Hadn't experienced even
the slightest sense of unease. Maybe it was something about fishing, Perceval
mused, maybe fishing required an emptying of the mind to be able to tolerate
the boredom. At any rate, Cap'n Joe would soon be getting some experienced
fishermen and women to help provide fish for the growing community to eat.
Perceval's ears flattened against his head for a moment as he recalled how that
dog--Mutt--just followed the Cap'n everywhere. Like a-a-fawning sycophant! No
self-respect there, the cat thought disdainfully, none at all. Ah, well, he was
dog after all. They had their uses, true, but honestly they just weren't as
highly evolved as his species.

Continuing his review, Perceval marked on his
list that the Perkins family had moved in down the road from the Samuels'
House. It looked like maybe Doc Shapiro was in for another move, to leave
Harmony's cabins and settle into a house near the Perkins, so with Penny as
their new resident nurse and the doctor, everyone felt better about medical
coverage for the community. The large, two-story home for the doctor would be
the most centralized location for the new clinic. It was big enough to function
as a doctor's office and had rooms to house patients for short stays. Doc Shapiro
seemed to think his practice of medicine was going to return to one of house
calls and home care, and appeared to be quite happy at that thought. Until they
got a larger population, they would keep an eye on the small local hospital,
keep it locked up, but probably not use it unless they needed extreme medical
care. Perceval wondered how receptive the doctor would be to the idea of
animals helping with healing. Well, no AMA to approve or disapprove anymore.
This doctor seemed interested in results, which was good.

Black was being careful in his recruitment drive
for their security force. So far, they had one policeman, and Black had talked
for a long time with the newcomer last night before accepting him into the new
force. And that had only happened after Black and Sam discussed the matter.
Perceval was just a tad miffed Black hadn't thought to come to him for advice,
but then, he and Samantha shared a bond. Still, he sniffed and thought, I could
have told him this was a decent guy who would work out fine. It was good Black
was being careful. They didn't need someone walking around with a gun who would--

"Perceval! There you are," Mrs. Philpott said,
closing the door to the computer room and sitting down at the desk. As he
meowed at her, she nodded her head, saying, "I know, I know, too many people.
They'll be out in a few days, I promise."

Perceval purred.

Mrs. Philpott chuckled at him. Then her
expression grew serious as she asked, "So? Do you sense them? Are they near
yet?"

Perceval typed on the computer.

LATE TODAY THEY WILL ARRIVE

BUT SOMETHING ISNT RIGHT

THE ONE WE THOUGHT WOULD HELP SAM

SOMETHING IS WRONG

Mrs. Philpott's brow furrowed as she took off
her glasses and rubbed her eyes. "You don't know what? I've held off telling
Jessica and John about her, since we weren't sure they would actually get here.
But you know it would be a relief to them, to know there was an adult who could
shoulder some of the responsibility that seems to be falling onto Samantha.
Damn it! Can you tell me anything else?"

CONNECTION I HAD WITH HER HAS CHANGED

NO SHE HAS CHANGED

IN SOME WAY NOT A GOOD WAY

WORLD SENSE-GAIA SENSE IS CONCERNED

"Oh, great," Mrs. Philpott muttered. When the planet herself was concerned, that probably didn't
bode well. No, not a good sign at all.

Power People Home, Table Rock Lake

Lisanne woke up slowly, vaguely aware of a
weight across her leg as she lay face down, head buried in her pillow. "Merlin?"
she said groggily.

"Um...no," an amused, low-pitched male voice
murmured at her shoulder.

Lisanne quickly raised her head and it all came
flooding back. Yesterday, in this bed, amazing sex...with Andy.
Oh wow. Eek!
He
was looking at her now, grinning, and her hair had to just be a mess, and her
make-up probably smeared or gone altogether, and she really needed to brush her
teeth or use some mouthwash or--

"Hey, baby," he said. "You are just beautiful in
the morning."

"Oh," she replied, momentarily at a loss. "I,
oh."