Outcasts of Gideon

Passing Down : Part 1

Dawn sat atop a table along one wall of the temple offices. Across from her at the large meeting room table sat Dewey. Her offer to sit with him was refused. He was taking news of his sister's death hard. She understood. Hearing about Creature left her numb for months.

Bobby wasn't as easily dismissed. He hovered near Dewey, consoling him with his signature awkwardness. Dewey seemed trapped between being polite and being distraught.

Several other tables occupied the center of the large area, each ringed with chairs. Around the room, doors led off toward smaller offices. Here and there were counter spaces and tables lining the walls. At one end of the space was a kitchen. That's where Cara busied herself with food prep. The cupboards were well stocked, and Cara clearly knew where things were.

Dawn had taken an instant liking to the woman. Under the circumstances, she might have liked anyone that helped them out. Here was a stranger who welcomed them like they were family. Better than that, Cara seemed genuinely happy to see them, especially Dewey. That might have been her most redeeming quality. Dawn had always found Dewey difficult to like. If he didn't remind her of her brother, she might not have even tried to get to know him.

She watched him sit, his eyes trained ahead. He'd cried briefly. Now he just sat, a vacant expression on his face. Bobby made abortive attempts to distract him. It almost seemed like they weren't in the same room.

She turned her head to glance again down the long hallway. There wasn't anything to see. She did this every so often just to avoid staring too long at Dewey. When she turned back, she found that he had tilted his head. Something caught his eye. Turning to look, she found several pictures and photographs hanging along the wall.

"Where did you get that?" Dewey rose from his seat, pointing to the wall.

Cara stopped what she was doing. "Get what?"

"That drawing." Dewey stepped around the large table. Finally reaching the wall of images, he grabbed the corner of a weathered piece of paper. From where Dawn sat, it appeared to be a child's drawing of the temple itself.

"Oh, that. Gwen drew that."

Dewey carefully removed the drawing. "I know Gwen drew it. How did it get here?"

"She brought it with her."

Dewey held the drawing up for Dawn and Bobby to see. They both closed on him, taking in the image. "Gwen drew this when we were kids. In fact, she drew dozens of them. They all looked like this. My parents thought she was going crazy."

The drawing depicted a large dome against a black background. Around it was a barren moonscape. At the top of the dome was a bright light shining into the dark sky.

Cara approached, drying her hands with a towel. "She had it with her. She always did. Wherever she went. When she found the temple, she called me. She said you would bring that light with you."

"What light?"

"The one she drew there on top. She said the temple would be complete when you put the light up there."

"How is that possible? She drew this at least twenty years ago."

"Cara, why did she call you and not Dewey?" asked Dawn.

Cara shrugged her shoulders. "She said Dewey would come when he got the star. I thought she was crazy."

"Yet you came"

"Well, she was always a little off. You know? But to be honest, I kinda hoped she was right. When she died..." Cara paused. She seemed to be waiting for Dewey to say something. "When she died, I kinda felt like I had to wait for you."

"We came here looking for something." Dawn reached into her jumpsuit pocket. As she did, the light of the leikela spilled out. She roughly grabbed the cloth and wrapped it again. "That's right, Dewey, you have the artifact, don't you?"

Dewey came over, pulling out the small metal object.

"What was that in your pocket?" Cara dropped the cloth on the table and approached Dawn.

"It's not important."

"It is important. A bright light! That could be what Gwen was talking about."

"The star? In the temple? At the top of the dome?"

"Right now there's a small metal object in the center. It was never meant to stay there. Dewey was supposed to bring the star and put it there."

"Small metal object. Does it look like this?" Dewey lifted the alien artifact before her face. Cara reached for it. Before she could touch it, he pulled it away. "I wouldn't do that. It can do some nasty things to you. Just look at Bobby."

Gwen looked at the man. She offered him a smile. "I've never seen the metal object. Gwen had. She said it was magic."

"Magic?" asked Dewey.

"She said she could travel places. When she touched it."

"Did she put it in the dome?"

"No, it's been in the dome since this place was built. But she would go up there sometimes."

"We need to get that object," said Dewey. "We need to get it down from there. How do we do that?"

"Will you put the light up there?"

Dewey looked to Dawn. "Mister L's light?"

Dawn shrugged. "Cara, how do we get up there?"

"We've got a maintenance hover made special for the dome."

"Can you show us?"