[Danny]

me? i can't afford holidays abroad.

i can't wait. i'm writing chapter 34, but i've only posted up to 28. so here's another. this introduces Ana, but she really comes into her own in chapter 32.

CHAPTER 28

“This it, then?”

“Just over that rise.”

The disagreements of the previous day had been overcome by the sheer joy of the mudokons at returning home. As the crawler moved up the ridge that led into the Mudoris valley, everyone on board was gathered on the bridge, including Crim, Meet, and Sillan. Crim was still unaware of the feelings of most of the tribe against him.

“You looking forward to getting home, then?”

Int didn’t even notice who spoke. “Three weeks we’ve been away. What do you think…” He trailed off when he saw that it was Crim who had spoken, but Crim didn’t notice his reluctance.

“I guess you’re pretty excited.”

Int recovered himself. “You bet I am!”

Jal was talking to Bil. “Do you think your village will accept us?”

“I’m sure they will.” Bil’s expression belied his confidence.

Jal let it pass. “How big is the tribe?”

“About 3000 strong.”

“So why do you send out small raiding parties like this? Why not make a full frontal assault on the factory?”

Bil looked at Jal as though he were mad. “We’re not that warlike. We don’t just –”

“Look!”

At that shout from one of the tribesmen, all conversations ceased, and everyone looked ahead through the viewscreen. The crawler was passing the crest of the ridge, and the Mudoris village was laid out before them. To Jal, it looked like paradise. There were mud buildings of all sizes down there, and the valley was green and forested. There was a wide river running through the centre, from which some villagers were drawing water.

Something was wrong. The villagers weren’t running to greet the returned heroes; they were running away. The warriors looked at each other in puzzlement. Then Bil laughed.

“Of course, we’re in a Cartel transport!” He climbed up the ladder to the entry hatch, opened it, and stuck his head out. “Hey! It’s all right! It’s just us! (You haven’t got a megaphone down there, have you, guys? Thanks.) IT’S OKAY! IT’S ONLY US! WE’RE BACK!”

Some of the villagers turned at the sound of Bil’s voice. After a little confusion, thet began to run up the slope towards the crawler. When they got closer, they began calling to the warriors, asking how the raid went. The first villager to reach the crawler was a tall, dark green female, who climbed to the top and threw her arms around Bil, who laughed.

“Ana! I’ve missed you! Have you been okay while we were away?”

“We’ve been counting the days!”

Bil had climbed out of the hatch, and the others were emerging. As they slid down the side of the crawler, they embraced their loved ones at the bottom of the slope. Jal emerged and sat beside Bil, who turned to him.

“This is Ana. Ana, this is Jal, one of the slaves we rescued.”

Jal didn’t spoil the occasion by correcting him. “Pleased to meet you.”

“Same here. Welcome to Mudoris. I hope you’ll be happy here.”

Jal shifted uncomfortably. “Me too, I suppose. Excuse me.”

He stood, and walked over to the entry hatch. He peered down, and waited till his eyes got accustomed to the gloom. He saw Crim, Meet and Sillan sitting at the foot of the ladder.

“Come on up, guys! Why’re you sitting down there in the dark?”

Crim looked up. “Why do you think? We wouldn’t be welcome.”

“Oh, that’s not true. Give me your hand, Meet. Sillan, you lift Crim up.”

Meet tentatively raised a paw, but Sill and Crim made no move. Jal pulled Meet out of the hatch, and looked down at the others. He frowned for a second, then turned away.

“Ana, this is Meet.”

“Pleased to meet you, Meet.”

“Pl’s t’meet y’Ana.” Meet naturally spoke brokenly, without proper vowel sounds. It had taken the others a long time to get him to speak properly at all, and he still reverted to his broken speech whenever he was nervous.

“You’re a Gabbit, aren’t you?”

“ ’s, s’pose so.”

“I always thought you guys were extinct.”

Jal spoke up. “We’ve never met any others.” He returned to the hatch. “You see, guys? Now get up here!”

Crim sighed. “It’s different for Meet, he’s a Gabbit.”

“Sillan, just lift him up here.”

Sillan gave a drawn-out hum, which sounded for all the world like a sigh, and grasped Crim in his invisible fields.

“Hey, what’re you doing? Stop!”

As they rose out of the hatch, a hush descended on the crowd.

“Err... Hi!” There was a pause. “Could you put me down now, please?”