Jennings' Folly

Prologue

After the engine quit and his dad’s snowmobile slid to a halt, Daryl Doggett took a moment to think about what he was going to do.

Any other night would have been perfect to be out under the stars and on the snow; whether hunting or riding with your favorite girl, which was what Daryl had in mind earlier in the evening. But it had turned into a fiasco after his girl left with another guy and now his machine was broken down. He should have brought a horse and sled, but oh no, he wanted to impress.

Daryl opened the thin metal door and slid from his seat to the ground. The snow gave way and he sank halfway to his knees with a compacting crunch. The machine was off the track and that was good because he didn’t want to block anyone’s way. He looked in the direction from which he’d come. The track disappeared behind trees and a hill but he could still see the glow from the lights at the pavilion. He held his breath and listened for the sound of another snowmobile or a horse-drawn sled coming his direction. Unfortunately, none were headed up Daryl’s particular track.

There were friends at the party, Daryl thought, who would use the same track to return to the county, unless they were ahead of him. Daryl looked the other direction, eyeing the two ruts as they disappeared into the dark.

How many kilometers home? Daryl didn’t have to ask himself. He already knew. Ten. A ten kilometer hike in freezing conditions? No way. There was no other choice: he’d have to hike back to the pavilion and hope someone would be there. If they were all gone, at least there was shelter and heat.

The teenager took a quick look at the engine but he wasn’t a mechanic. Didn’t know the first thing about it. After donning snow shoes and gathering his pack and his rifle, he set out walking between the tracks back toward the isolated pavilion where less than an hour earlier a crowd of young adults from two counties had gathered to listen to music, dance, and participate in courtship rituals. A young man from his own county swept Kristina away and now Daryl was on his own again. What rotten luck.

Daryl contemplated the trail before him as he walked. He was breaking the number one rule, he knew, but his father would be upset enough about the snowmobile breaking down. If Daryl’s frozen body were found inside, well that would irritate his mother as well. The number one rule? Do not put yourself in circumstances where you are alone in the wilderness. Especially at night. Daryl glanced at the stars as if to verify it was still night. How did he manage to get himself into fixes like this?

The good news was that the pavilion wasn’t far, no more than half a kilometer. The track followed a meandering, northeast route past woods and around the base of a hill. The pavilion was on the other side of the hill.

It was cold, but tolerable as long as the wind kept away. Daryl was prepared. Like most men on Dreidel, his father had excellent outdoors skills and had passed them on to his son. Daryl was only sixteen, but he knew how to take care of himself in bad weather. When he’d asked his father if he could take the snowmobile to the pavilion for the county meet-up, the old man had frowned but said all right.

Daryl trudged along, mumbling to himself about his bad luck when a crunch came from the darkness in the woods to the left. The young man stopped and peered into the shadows. Yo? he asked. There was no reply and Daryl responded by unslinging his rifle from his shoulder and brandishing. He glanced back at the snowmobile only a hundred meters away.

Goose bumps crept up his spine and he assured himself it was only his fertile imagination that frightened him. Only the wind, he whispered, and nothing more.

Since the wind wasn’t blowing and it was in the dead of night in the middle of winter with thick snow coating every surface, it was profoundly quiet. A quiet so complete, even the occasional natural sounds of accumulated snow falling to the ground from overly burdened tree branches were alien and alarming. Thud! Another clump hit the ground nearby and Daryl jumped.

He started up again and made it some twenty meters before hearing the unmistakable sound of something stepping through the snow in the shadows under the trees. He stopped again and squinted to see what it might be. Whatever it was, it too had stopped and Daryl could imagine that it presently eyed him as he stood exposed in the open.

Without another thought, Daryl turned and clumsily ran in his snowshoes back towards the snowmobile. A hundred meters, thought Daryl, and I can lock myself inside. Considering the thin metal, he thought, it’s not much but it’s something and that’s better than nothing. He was nearly halfway to the machine when he glanced back. To Daryl’s relief, nothing was there. Winded from the effort, he slowed and walked backwards while checking his rifle. It was his father’s old Chesterson Mark II: a real straight shooter but it re-charged slowly due to inefficient solar collectors and even so, you could only get one shot off at a time.

The closer Daryl got to the snowmobile, the easier he breathed. By the time he reached the vehicle, he was certain he had got himself worked up over nothing. Standing at the door he looked back up the track and considered his original idea of hiking to the pavilion.

Beside him, a droplet hit the snow and disappeared. Daryl looked at the sky. There were no clouds. However, draped over the top of the snowmobile was the creature about which all those rules were made concerning caution outdoors anywhere on Dreidel. The drooling jowls conveyed its intention. It was the monster with no name and Daryl, heart in his throat, stumbled backwards to once again stand in the center of the track.

He raised the rifle and pictured a bull’s eye in the center of the creature’s elongated cranium before squeezing the trigger and hanging onto the Chesterson as it jumped in his hands bellowing thunder, fire and smoke.

Daryl peered through the haze to see what damage his one shot had made. He couldn’t have missed at that range. The rifle buzzed as the charge built back up.

They’re slippery, Daryl’s father had told him, adding that if you encounter one on accident, you’ll be all right if you’re well-armed. More than one, just turn around and get away – if they’ll let you.

The smoke dissipated and the giant lizard was no longer draped over the roof of the snowmobile. More troubling, it was nowhere to be seen. The retort from the gun had faded and all was quiet again.

Behind was a snow-covered field with bowed and frozen trees on the other side. Nowhere to run. The animal had to be on the other side of the snowmobile. Had he hit it? Was it dead?

The rifle clicked, indicating the charge was complete. Daryl had another shot if he needed it. Taking a breath, he stepped around the rear of the vehicle, prepared to fire at any moment. He had a clear line of sight and the animal wasn’t on the other side of the vehicle. Daryl quickly looked around and finally spotted the tracks leading away from the snowmobile, out into the snow-covered terrain.

The young man breathed a sigh of relief and walked back around the snowmobile, stopping at the flimsy metal door and pulling it open only to be greeted by the open jaws of the creature as it sprung from the front seat. Daryl caught a glimpse of the open door on the opposite side as he instinctively held out his right hand to keep the monster from him. The creature clamped onto Daryl’s hand and bit through the bone at the wrist. An instant later, Daryl’s hand was free. As he staggered backwards, he lifted his forearm and watched in disbelief as blood, his blood, spurted rhythmically from the open wound at his wrist where his hand used to be.

Holding the rifle with his left, he clumsily pointed it at the lizard. The action was countered by a slap from the animal’s taloned, left front hand/foot/paw -- Daryl didn’t have time to decide which – that sent the weapon flying from the teenager’s hand. The other front hand/foot/paw came around like a boxer’s left hook but Daryl, frozen in the moment, could not move. The talons passed along the front of Daryl’s throat and he managed to move backwards a couple of more steps. Instead of following, the man-sized lizard with behavior characteristics of a feline, rested on its haunches and watched Daryl. The animal cocked its large snakehead at an angle.

Daryl suddenly found himself short of breath. He was holding his injured right forearm with his left hand but released it to feel the mortal cut to his neck. By the time he drew his hand away and saw the blood, he was blacking out. It was a good thing. Otherwise, he would have been conscious as the creature eviscerated him and spread his bloody remains over a rough circle three meters in diameter.

*

Courtney and Chris were late, but neither was too worried about it. As long as I’m home before mom and dad get up, they won’t complain, said Chris as he peered through the windshield of his snowmobile.

Well, my mom and dad will complain and threaten to ground me, but they won’t really do anything. Courtney leaned closer to Chris. Besides, she said, it was worth it.

Chris smiled but kept his eyes on the track. What’s that? he said.

What’s what? replied Courtney as she followed Chris’s gaze.

The track curved around a woods and then past an open field on the right. On the left was a snowdrift that prevented them from seeing across another open field. Parked next to the drift was a blue, beat-up, old snowmobile Chris recognized immediately.

That’s Daryl’s rig, said Chris.

Where’s Daryl? Courtney anxiously asked.

Chris shook his head. He’s gotta be close. Maybe he’s asleep inside…

And frozen to death.

It’s not that cold, besides… Chris abruptly stopped the vehicle and bent his head and eyes closer still to the windshield. What is that? On the ground there between the tracks.

I see it.

Well, what is it?

I don’t know, Chris, but I’m getting a little freaked out here. Courtney hugged herself tightly, running her hands over her arms.

Not to worry, quipped Chris. I’ve got my rig in the back. Courtney glanced behind: in the rear compartment, within reach, was a firearm sitting atop an over-sized diddy-bag.

Let’s just get out of here, she suggested.

Chris stared through the windshield at whatever was lying on the track as he allowed the snowmobile to roll slowly forward. Hang on, he said to his girlfriend. Let me check it out.

I don’t have a good feeling about this, Courtney said.

Oh my God! said Chris as he braked the vehicle and grabbed his gun before opening the door and stepping out, all the while with Courtney repeating, What is it? What is it?

Chris told her to stay in the vehicle. Shut the door behind me, he added, climbing out. Courtney watched as he slowly stepped through the snow to the perimeter of what looked like a big, dark spot on the ground. Chris squinted at it for a long moment, then turned toward the vehicle parked beside the road.

Courtney opened the door and shouted for him to return to the snowmobile. Let’s just go, she insisted.

Chris looked at her but didn’t answer. Instead, he continued to step warily toward Daryl’s vehicle. Courtney remained where she was, one foot inside the snowmobile, the other on the ground outside.

The door to Daryl’s snowmobile was ajar. Chris stood before it holding his firearm to his eye, prepared to fire. Rather than take his hands from the weapon to open the door, Chris stood on one foot and stretched out the other. Inserting the toe of his boot inside the cracked door, he pulled and it swung open.

The driver’s compartment was empty. In confirmation, Chris looked at the spot on the ground before he began to slush through the snow, making his way back to the snowmobile and Courtney.

What is it? Courtney asked again. What is that on the ground? The girl was fully afraid and started to cry. As she wiped her eyes, she saw a blur come from behind the stalled snowmobile at the side of the road and called out to Chris.

Chris stopped. What? he asked.

Behind you! Courtney shouted.

Chris began to turn but was too slow. The first slash raked the teen across the meaty part of his thighs just above the knees. At that, his legs would not support him and he toppled to the ground, using his rifle like a cane to deconstruct the fall. He tried to rise again to aim his gun at the creature, but it slapped the weapon from his hands and in a blur of motion it clamped down on Chris’s neck and shoulder. He screamed when the monster bit down. A moment later, it drew back exposing a gaping hole where Chris’s neck joined his shoulder. Arterial blood squirted from the wound as the teen fell to his backside unable to either flee or protect himself.

Courtney climbed back inside the snowmobile, shut the door, and wedged herself into the tiny rear storage compartment among Chris’ hunting gear, oily rags, an old blanket, and a well-thumbed copy of the New Galactic Bible. She held the bible to her chest as she ducked down out of sight and silently prayed for salvation.

Chapter 1

My name is Amanda Jennings. I was only three years old, nearly four, when Papaw and Aunt Liza brought me back to Dreidel. Before that, I don’t recall anything. I’ve got a good memory, too. Always have. My first memories, no kidding, were aboard Glaucus on our approach to Dreidel. I distinctly remember Papaw asking Kaliss where he was going to hide. His question got my attention, I think, because I assumed we were playing a game.

I had an advantage. I was small, I could squeeze into tiny places and if anyone came by I would hold my breath until they were gone. I was the master of hide and seek and if these adults thought they could challenge me in my own domain, the starship Glaucus, then they deserved a lesson in humility.

I recall mulling over possible hiding spots in the control room when Liza came in and pointed at me. There you are, she said, holding out her arms for me to climb aboard. As I complied and gave her a hug she wrapped her arms around me and lifted me up. Uh-oh. Trapped. We need to get ready, she said as I struggled.

Ready for what, I had no idea, but it dawned on me that everyone was busy and excited. I finally asked Aunt Liza what was going on.

Remember what Papaw told us?

I looked at Liza doubtfully and shook my head.

We’re almost there, the trip is over. We’re approaching Dreidel. You’re going home.

Well, that didn’t make any sense to me at all. I was already home. Glaucus was my home. I started to cry.

No, no, honey, said Liza, we’re all going together. We’re going to park Glaucus, then we’re going to the farm. Don’t you remember talking about this?

I nodded in the affirmative but the truth was I didn’t. Where was I going to sleep?

As Liza carried me out of the control room, I looked over her shoulder and wiggled a finger at Kaliis who sat at the navigator’s position. He wiggled a bye-bye finger back before the hatch squeezed shut.

Little Toby was crying and I looked to see Uncle Pat coming up the passageway. Pat was holding Toby and Toby’s diaper was dirty. I know because I could smell it. Nasty.

Liza told Uncle Pat that Toby would quit crying if his diaper got changed.

I know, Pat said as he passed. There’s too much going on. Too much to do.

Do you have a diaper? asked Liza.

No, admitted Uncle Pat.

With her free hand, Liza dug into the deep pockets of her dungarees, pulled out a fresh diaper, and handed it to her husband. Clean his bottom before you put this on, Liza said, or else he’ll get a rash.

I know, said Pat, taking the diaper.

Do it before you strap him down.

I will, said Pat.

The shipboard intercom cracked to life and Glaucus, the AI and probably my best friend in the whole universe, asked us to find a handhold. As he spoke, handholds formed on all the surfaces around us. I am turning off the gravity dampers and switching to impulse jets as we enter the atmosphere. There will be a jolt. Please utilize the handholds.

Liza responded by telling me to hang onto her and then reaching out with both hands to secure herself. Pat, however, wanted to get to the control room first – only a few steps away – before securing himself and the baby.

There was no other warning before the ship suddenly lurched and it seemed as if a giant’s hand had snatched us from the air to shake us like an infant’s rattle. I looked up into Aunt Liza’s face as she braced herself. Although her teeth were clinched, she managed a tiny smile and I rested my head upon her chest.

A resounding thud came from the floor beside me. I opened my eyes and saw Uncle Pat lying on his back with his face masked by a grimace. Baby Toby lay across his chest, unhurt but with an expression of dazed confusion. The ship steadied and Liza dropped me to the deck.

She kneeled next to Uncle Pat and took Toby up in her arms. Toby had, for the moment, forgotten about the disturbing load in his pants. Are you all right?

Why do people always say that?

I was asking Toby, but how about you?

I’m all right.

That’s what you always say.

Pat sighed and climbed to his feet. Here, give him to me. I’ll change his diaper.

Aunt Liza handed over the baby and kissed Pat on the cheek. See you planetside, she said and we continued on our way as Pat took Toby into the control room.

The deck moved under my feet and both Liza and I staggered down the passage to a compartment Liza called secondary control, but I called it my special place because nobody else ever went in there. Until then, anyway. Aunt Liza lifted me into a seat just my size and connected the straps, pulling them tight and asking me if it was uncomfortable. I shook my head no as the turbulence caused by the ship entering Dreidel’s upper atmosphere began to make me sleepy. That’s when Liza started talking to Glaucus and I could tell she was angry.

You didn’t give everyone a fair chance to get secure before that last maneuver. You could have killed somebody, do you know that?

I acknowledge your concern, Liza; however, there are variables of which I am not fully in control. For instance, the orbital path of this planet around its star…

Come on, Glaucus. Pat was holding Toby. Give a better warning.

I formed the handholds for you.

It wasn’t enough. Next time… no, let me retract that because there will not be a next time. Just give us ample warning so we can get somewhere and get strapped in. Is that understood?

There was silence from Glaucus as the turbulence abated, but then a new tremor and buzz as the impulse engines lit.

Liza was really mad and she demanded Glaucus answer her but he didn’t.

*

The next thing I know, somebody was releasing the straps and picking me up. I knew it was Liza because I could smell her and I went back to sleep on her shoulder.

*

I woke up again in my own bed with Papaw tickling my feet. I tried to ignore him but couldn’t and I started laughing which is usually a signal for Papaw to really double up on the tickling but he didn’t do it. Instead, he told me to get up and get dressed.

Time’s a’ wastin’, he said. As he turned to exit, he ran into Aunt Liza at the door.

Is she up?

She needs a little motivation, Papaw said before disappearing into the outside hall.

Are we there? Did we land?

We sure did, said Liza. We’re sitting beside the prettiest glacial lake you’ve ever seen.

What’s that?

You’ll see. But first, we put you into warm clothes, plus you’ll get to wear outdoor shoes, not space sox.

I got dressed, stuffed a small bag with last minute items, and took my last breakfast aboard the ship with Liza and Toby. When we were done, Liza put Toby in the sling which hung around her shoulders, and herded me to the main airlock which, of course, was always kept closed, but it was open this time and, along with real sunshine, cold air flowed through.

I ran to the open outer airlock and looked down the ramp. Pat and Papaw were at the bottom as well as a breathtakingly real holographic representation of Glaucus, who stood a head taller than Papaw and Papaw was the tallest man I’ve ever seen. Yet not even Glaucus’ impressive image could prevent me from staring at what I soon learned were called striders.

Three towering machines stood beyond the perimeter of the ship. They looked like people in that they had legs, arms, a torso and a head. They sat with their fronts open, exposing the operator compartment and the ingenious system of servos. The striders were nearly white in color but not the shade of the surrounding snow, which was another miracle wrought before my young eyes.

I looked from the machines to the snow and then to the body of water sitting placidly in a valley nestled between snow-covered peaks, protected by cold gusts of wind.

Pat stamped his feet and said, We shouldn’t tarry long in this weather.

Let’s mount up, then, said Papaw. He moved toward the big machine in the middle with Kaliis timidly trailing him, squinting his alien eyes in the sunshine.

Papaw ducked under the open door and into the chest of the machine. He sat facing outward and slipped a halo control onto his head. That must have activated the machine because it suddenly jerked upright into a ready position that not only exposed a secondary compartment but also made the total height of the machine a little over three meters. Papaw’s voice boomed from a speaker, Kaliis, get in here!

The diminutive alien slumped forward to the passenger seat, located directly below the pilot’s seat, and climbed in. He mumbled something about hating tiny spaces.

As Aunt Liza helped Uncle Pat put a grinning Toby in Pat’s strider, she sat back for a moment, fanning her face. She ran a hand over her big tummy and Pat asked if she was all right.

I’m fine, she said, turning her attention back to Toby. How’s this going to work?

With the kids? asked Pat. We’ll manage.

What if we have to stop?

Uncle Pat laughed. It was good to hear because he didn’t laugh much. Then we’ll stop. We’re here, Liza. We can slow down now.

I hope so, she said.

That’s when I thought about Glaucus. Where’s Glaucus gonna go? I asked Liza.

He’s staying here with the ship. She added something else but I didn’t catch it because that was when Papaw closed up his strider.

I watched in rapt fascination as the front of the machine folded up, sealing Papaw and Kaliis inside. It backed away from us before gracefully turning a pirouette and moving away in long, slow, skating steps.

Liza kissed Toby on the cheek then backed away to where I stood. She took my hand and led me to the last strider and lifted me into the lower seat. I remember how it fit me perfectly, melding to me and warming me. It was very cold outside and the wind kept blowing.

The strider with Pat and Toby sealed up and stood up, towering over Liza and me.

Liza placed a booted foot next to my left armrest and pushed herself up to the pilot’s chair. The front of the strider was still open and I looked directly at Glaucus and when he looked at me in return, I remembered I hadn’t said good-bye. I threw my arms out toward him, waggling my fingers and said, Bye-bye, big boy!

He smiled and lifted a hand, wiggling his giant fingers.

The front panels closed and I had to bring my arms in but I could still see out of a viewing port. Glaucus could see me too because he kept smiling and waving until Liza made the strider stand up, turn around and go to the others.

She joined the other two striders on the top of the nearest hill and together, all three vehicles faced the snow-covered valley. The ship was there but my friend had disappeared. Where’s Glaucus? I asked.

He’s gone inside, honey.

We watched as the ship silently lifted and drifted out over the lake. It dropped, slowly, to the water’s surface where it hesitated an instant before continuing its descent into the depths of the lake and disappearing altogether.

Glaucus not coming with?

No, he’s staying with the ship.

Why?

Because we have to hide the ship.

Why?

"Because Glaucus is unique. If