Learning Experiences by Allison McDonnell

[Reviews - 1]
Table of Contents [Report This]
Printer

- Text Size +

Time seemed to fly by in the Danziger household. As Adam grew, so, too, did his parent's love for him and for each other. Although the child's facial features were unmistakably courtesy of the Klempt gene pool, other characteristics he bore were another story altogether. His initial dark brown curls were slowly becoming blonde. He was most definitely large for his age and he was already wearing Uly's old clothing by the age of five. Bess had no doubt that one day Adam would tower over her, and John joked that he would eventually tower over him, too. The Danziger chromosomes certainly contributed to Adam's hearty appetite which was matched only by his hunger for learning, a trait inherited from both parents.

Bess and John realized that Adam would someday be on his own with no one to count on but himself. Because of this, they began instructing him on everything from mechanics to medicinal herbs at a very young age. By the time he was taking his first steps, he was splitting his time between watching his father build or repair various appliances and observing his mother mix botanical potions in the greenhouse. Bess was able to locate several of Yale's tutoring programs and Adam absorbed the knowledge taught to him like a sponge. He was fascinated by nature and loved to go exploring. As a result, John made sure that Adam wore his wrist-lock at all times, complete with an alarm mechanism that emitted an earsplitting screech if he strayed too far toward the edge of the valley.

They also taught him everything they'd learned about the planet and the inhabitants of G889. They relayed warnings of the possible existence of penal colonists and of the Council's sinister plan to control the planet. They also shared with Adam the stories of each member of Eden Advance.

It was during the summer of his eighth year that Bess and John sat him down with the purpose of bringing to light the complex issue of the Terrians. Both parents tread carefully when they explained their relationship with the creatures and their integral part in the demise of their friends and family. It was a difficult situation, but they felt that it was important to be honest. At the same time, they wanted to be certain not to encourage hatred by their son toward the beings. They described the events leading up to their imprisonment including the Terrian's change of heart regarding the settlement of their planet by a species they no longer trusted. Bess and John revealed that this judgment had led to the deaths of several people in their group including Adam's older sister and was the reason why they would never be permitted to travel beyond the boundaries of the mountain range in which they resided.

Adam was seated at the dining room table for over an hour listening to his parents relay the often sad tale of their initial journey and subsequent confinement.

When they finished, John asked him if he had any questions and the child thoughtfully posed, "Why aren't you and Mommy mad at the Terrians after all they did?"

John exhaled slowly before recounting, "I was mad for a very long time. They took away True and some of the best friends that I ever had."

John reached for Bess' hand just as she was instinctively grasping for his. As their fingers interlocked, he continued, "But we can't change what occurred and it doesn't do any good to dwell on it. All it does is fill up your heart with anger and sadness. Instead, we need to look at what's ahead. The three of us are a part of something very important. This planet could be the only hope that the human race has for survival. As the last two members of Eden Advance, we have the responsibility of proving to the Terrians that humans can live in harmony with the land."

Bess added, "And if what we think will happen actually happens, it will all be worth it. Our lives and the sacrifices made by the other Edenites will have meant something."

"What'll happen?" Adam asked in perplexity.

"When your Daddy and I go to Heaven, the experiment will be over. We believe that the Terrians will make the decision to allow humans to live on the planet."

"And they'll also let you leave this mountain range. And that's exactly what you need to do," John resolutely declared. "You need to leave this place."

"But where would I go?"

"To New Pacifica," John answered. "We don't think that there's already a colony set up. The Terrians probably kept everyone away until they made a final determination about whether or not they want humans here. But the com-dish should still be there transmitting a signal and any ships coming into range will most likely land there."

Bess tightened her grip on her husband's hand as she warned in a solemn tone, "But you need to be very careful. If you see that it's a Council ship, leave immediately before they notice you. You don't have a bio-stat chip so no one will know that you're there. Let the Terrians handle the Council and come back here until it's all over."

She pushed the frightening image of her little boy on the run from government soldiers out of her mind and refocused her thoughts. "There will be others who will come to colonize this planet. People like your father and me, who just want to make a better life for ourselves and our families. You must find them and tell them the stories of Eden Advance and of the other humans who came before us."

John pensively disclosed, "When we first landed here, we thought that Ulysses Adair was the key to the planet. Now your Mom and I aren't positive about this, but we think that you might be the real link between the two species. It's not like the Terrians did anything to change you biologically like they did Uly. Instead, you'll play the role of a messenger. You have to make the colonists understand how important it is to work with and not against the Terrians."

"And you need to make sure that the history of Earth doesn't repeat itself on G889," Bess finished.

John raised his eyebrows questioningly. "It's a big responsibility. You think you can handle it?"

"Yeah," Adam replied assuredly. "I won't let you down."

John smiled at the self-confident response. It was amazing to him how much Adam's personality could so often resemble True's. "I know you won't, Champ. Just do your best. That's all we could ever ask."

Their son's young attention span got the better of him and he energetically sprang from his chair. "Can I go out and play for awhile before dinner?"

"Sure, Kiddo. Just stay close by, all right?"

"Uh-huh," Adam cheerfully chirped as the front door slammed not-so-gently behind him.

After a few moments of reflection, John turned to his wife and optimistically remarked, "Well, that didn't go so badly, did it?"

Without meeting his gaze, Bess rose to her feet and retreated to the kitchen in silence. She could feel John's presence behind her as she clumsily grasped for a skillet located in a nearby cabinet. Her welling tears clouded her vision and she inadvertently toppled several other metal pans to the floor causing a loud clanging noise to reverberate throughout the house.

Before she could bend down to pick up the displaced cookware, John gingerly took her by the shoulders and pivoted her to face him.

"Sweetheart, we talked about this," he softly reassured. "Telling him was the right thing to do."

Bess flung her arms around his waist and laid her head against his chest. "Oh, John," she quietly wept. "How could we toss the weight of the world onto the shoulders of an eight year old boy and expect him to carry it?"

"I know, Babe, but he deserves to know the truth. Of course he doesn't understand it completely and it'll probably take a few years for it to really sink in, but he's a tough kid. He'll do just fine."

John tilted her chin upward with his index finger, forcing her to make eye contact with him. "He'll be okay," he pledged to her. "We'll make sure of it."

_________

It was one of the shortest winters they'd encountered so far and John couldn't have been more grateful for the early thaw. As soon as it was warm enough to work outdoors, he labored tirelessly each day from sunrise until sunset on constructing an addition to their cottage. There was a lot of work to do and he knew that he was already dealing with a limited time table in which to complete the project. After all, they would soon be in need of a third bedroom.

John was in the middle of nailing together the wooden frame when he heard Bess call to him from the base of the ladder he was occupying. He weeded his hands through his curls which were now cut a bit shorter and were graying around the temples. He was in his fifties now and, although his rugged features showed his maturity, his overall energy was that of a man half his age. He theorized that the vivacious spirit of his wife and son had rubbed off on him and was keeping him young on the inside. And soon there would be another little one to keep up with.

The mechanic gazed down to see a steaming cup of coffee in Bess' hands and an even warmer smile on her slightly rounder face. It was amazing to him that, at thirty-nine years old, his wife looked almost exactly the same as the day she'd arrived on G889, save for a few wrinkles around her eyes and mouth and a handful of silver hairs sporadically interwoven in with her dark locks. Of course, these days she was also wearing a few extra pounds. This had required her to scrounge for larger sized clothing and her maternity wardrobe consisted mostly of Walman and Cameron's discarded apparel. However, on this particular day, she was dressed in one of Yale's shirts covered by Mazatl's blue Ops jacket.

John sank his hammer into the loop of his work-belt and briskly bounded down the ladder to join her.

"I thought you could use a break," Bess remarked as she slid the mug into his hand.

After John thanked her, he took several healthy gulps of the brew and slowly felt his body begin to warm despite the frigid morning temperature. After greedily emptying its contents, he set the cup on the nearby rung and reached out to lovingly caress his wife's broad stomach.

"Won't be too much longer now, I suppose," he said expectantly.

"I certainly hope not," Bess animatedly replied. "She's been kicking up a storm all morning. If I don't go into labor in the next week or two, I think she's going to try to bust her way out."

John snorted at her continued choice of pronouns. "Darlin', I don't know why you're so sure that this one's gonna be a girl."

Bess gave him an enticing smile. "I just know it, that's all." She turned her eyes downward to her stomach and sweetly addressed in a higher inflection, "Now, Eben, don't you listen to Daddy. He doesn't understand the wonderful and mysterious power of women's intuition. I'll be teaching you all about that along with how to manipulate your father into getting anything you want."

John just rolled his eyes and shook his head.

"Come on, Mom," Adam excitedly yelled as he jumped into the ATV.

John wrinkled his brow. "Where are you two off to this morning?"

"Adam wants to explore the cave again," she answered as casually as possible, knowing how overly cautious her husband could be. "We'll be back by lunchtime."

"Shouldn't you be taking it easy?" he urged, the concern readily evident in his tone. "Why don't you lay down for awhile and I'll take him exploring."

"John, Sweetie, you're hovering, again," she lightly admonished. She wrapped her arms around him and suggested in a voice saturated with honey, "Tell you what. If you're really good, when I get back, I'll let you rub my giant, swollen feet."

He gave her a crooked smile. "Gee, you promise?" he smirked, pulling her as closely to him as her large abdomen would allow.

"Yep, it's a date," the Earth-res happily proclaimed, correctly sensing that she had prevailed.

She gave him a brief kiss before disentangling herself from his grasp. She wanted to leave before he changed his mind. "Be back in an hour or two."

"Fine, just don't wear yourself out," John capitulated, knowing that arguing the point was useless. "And take your gear," he called out to her as she made her way to the awaiting vehicle.

She spun back toward him and lifted her bulging stomach to reveal the previously hidden equipment nestled in her belt. Both broke out into chuckles as she lowered her belly and the gear completely vanished again under the weighty load.

"See ya', Sport," he yelled to Adam as he rescaled the ladder. "Don't let your mother do any mountain climbing this time, okay?"

"Daaaaaad," his son drawled in a twanged accent reminiscent of Earth.

As the ATV took off in the direction of the cave, the mechanic shook his head in wonderment. He and Bess hadn't planned on having a second child, although it was always a possibility. They still lacked the benefit of birth control and had done their best to be careful, but accidents will happen. John chortled to himself. All things considered, he was surprised that the house wasn't packed full of little 'accidents'.

When Bess had gleefully announced that she was pregnant, she had also said that she was convinced that the baby was another gift from God. After thinking about it awhile, John was inclined to believe her. If there was a sibling for Adam, he wouldn't be left alone when John and Bess died. Plus, Adam would have help in spreading the word about humanity's need to respect the planet and the importance of reaching an understanding with the Terrians. After all, two voices will be louder than one.

_________

"So are you getting excited about your little sister yet?" Bess asked as she shone her lumalight on the box of old Edenite provisions that Adam was enthusiastically rummaging through. They had been exploring the crates of unneeded supplies stored in the dark cavern for about an hour and, although Bess was ready to head home, Adam showed no signs of stopping.

"Uh-huh," he said absently as he set aside a few loose pieces of wiring, an old fuse box, some conduit cable and a spare battery pack, his mind barraged with ideas of the many different contraptions he could build with it. "Dad says that, when you have the baby, you're gonna scream a lot but not to be scared because you'll be okay."

The Earth-res smiled as she leaned up against the long-abandoned yellow produce cart that Eden crew had once used to house their foodstuffs.

Before she could reply, her son added, "Oh, and Dad also said not to be upset if you start cursing and calling him a bunch of names."

She laughed as she remembered the foul language that had spilled from her lips the last time she gave birth. She inwardly rationalized that John should accept at least partial responsibility. Not just because he was the baby's father and half of the reason that she had been placed in that stressful predicament, but because nearly every profane word she'd hollered had been learned from him.

"He's right on both counts," Bess replied happily.

Adam began sifting through a neighboring container filled with surplus jumpers and canteens and produced a tattered holo-still of the Eden Ops crew posed in front of the Transrover. As he handed it to Bess, she stared at it in surprise having never viewed the image before. It was undoubtedly taken during their first winter in Mary's Garden because there was a spattering of snow on the ground and the Bio-dome was visible in the far corner of the photo. John was in the center with his hands shoved deep in his pockets and looking slightly uncomfortable because he hated being photographed. True was positioned in front of him, leaning on one foot with her arms folded defiantly in front of her. To their left was Denner, Magus and Walman. Bess immediately noticed that Magus and Walman were standing rather close to each other and their shoulders were almost touching. She smiled bittersweetly at the obvious attraction that the two had to each other and was glad that they had acted on their feelings before their deaths. Bess also observed that Denner was grinning from ear to ear in the picture. Perhaps Cameron had been the photographer, she surmised.

To the right of the Danzigers were Mazatl and Eben. Mazatl was the only person in the photo who appeared more uneasy than John. Bess was certain that the reason for his awkward posturing was Eben's close proximity to him. She had set her head casually on his shoulder and was wearing a broad smile that rivaled Denner's.

Eben. What a sweet, bubbly, funny person she was, Bess thought to herself. She had been a bundle of energy and would go out of her way to do anything for anyone. She was a true friend who deserved a lot better than she ever got. So many catastrophes had taken place during Eden Advance's first year on G889 that Eben's needless death had been lost among the other tragedies. This was the main reasoning behind Bess and John's decision to name their forthcoming daughter after her. It was the best way they could think of to honor her wonderful life and her incredible spirit.

Adam noticed the melancholy look on his mother's face as she studied the photograph. "I'm sorry, Mom," he apologized. "I forgot that it makes you unhappy to come here."

"No, Honey, it's all right. It was all a long time ago," Bess tried to reassure him as she tucked the holo-still into the inside pocket of her jacket. "But sometimes I still get a little sad when I think about my friends."

The sullen sound of his mother's voice tugged at Adam's heart and suddenly the stories that his parents had told him of their struggles became vividly real in his mind. He gazed around the cavern and it was like he saw it for the very first time. No longer did he view the cave as a fun place to go exploring for cool gadgets or to look for neat shaped rocks. Now, he envisioned his mom and dad in the same dark and gloomy room as they tried to survive their second winter planetside. He pictured them huddled together, attempting to withstand the biting cold and their uncertain future. He could see their heartbreak, fear and helplessness after the others had died and left them to fend for themselves.

The images of his parent's suffering cut into him like a knife and Adam stood up and angrily questioned, "Why does God make nice people like you and Dad hurt? It's not fair!"

Bess was shocked at his abrupt outburst and quickly considered her options on how to best explain something for which there really was no complete or easy answer.

As Adam began roughly tossing the small pile of items he'd gathered into his knapsack, Bess expounded, "Sometimes that's just the way life works, Sweetheart. Think about the story of Job. Even though he was a nice person, he lost his children, most of his friends and all his wealth. Then he got sick and wished he'd never been born. He couldn't figure out why he was being punished and asked God why He would cause him such horrible pain. Finally, Job figured out the answer on his own."

Adam stopped his activity and turned his complete attention to his mother in order to fully digest the explanation.

Bess continued, "Job realized that we shouldn't question God because He has a motive for everything that He does. Sometimes we don't figure out until much, much later why God has thrown an obstacle in our way. Sometimes we never truly understand the reason. But Job understood that he had to have faith that God would never give him more than he could handle. Job accepted his fate and, because of this, God rewarded him with more wealth than he could ever dream of and he lived a long and happy life."

Adam was unconvinced by the answer and scowled in disbelief. Bess lovingly placed her arm around him as they walked toward the exit of the cave.

"It's true that your dad and I have suffered many hardships in our lives. We grew up poor and uneducated. Both of us went hungry alot. We each suffered the loss of a parent and were forced to become adults at a pretty early age. Our survival depended on us making sacrifices and living by our wits."

As they reached the ATV, she turned Adam toward her and asserted, "But our childhood's weren't difficult because God enjoys punishing people or because we were bad kids. Maybe God had bigger plans for us and this was His way of toughening us up so we'd be ready. Your daddy always says that things happen for a reason. I don't think that it was an accident that he and I ended up here together on G889. I believe that God meant for us to find each other. We're a lot alike because we've lived through so many of the same experiences. Plus, your father and I have a great partnership because where I have weaknesses, he has strengths and vice versa. We outlasted the others because of our support and trust in one another."

Adam's continued silence spoke volumes and Bess could see the doubt reflected in his eyes. "I know that it doesn't seem fair that bad things happen to good people, but someday when you're older, you'll understand that life is a test of faith and you have to take it as it comes."

As they climbed into the vehicle, Bess broke into a joyful smile. "Because I didn't lose my faith, God has rewarded me with you and your father. And pretty soon, He's going to reward me again with your little sister," she declared, patting her swelled stomach.

His mother's grin was contagious and Adam could feel his negative thoughts dissolving into love for his parents and admiration for their courage to accept and forgive.

They started off for home with Bess deftly maneuvering around the large puddles of water and patches of snow that still covered the ridge.

Adam arched forward in his seat to inquire, "If I asked Dad about why your lives were so tough, do you think he would say the same thing you did?"

Bess gave him a quick glance over her shoulder before returning her gaze to the path in front of her. "Well, I know that your dad believes in God, but he isn't quite as religious as I am. He'll probably tell you-"

Her words were cut short when, without warning, Bess was engulfed by an overwhelming sense of dizziness and nausea. She found herself suddenly unable to speak or move. For a moment, she thought that she was in labor, but quickly dismissed the notion. She wasn't feeling the discomfort associated with childbirth and it certainly wouldn't impede her from performing basic functions like communicating.

"Mom, what's wrong?"

Bess' vision went out of focus and her son's voice now sounded more like an echo as she felt herself being pulled further and further away from consciousness. She helplessly witnessed herself slump forward and strike her forehead against the steering mechanism causing the ATV to veer sharply toward the steep cliff wall.

"Mom!" cried a terrified Adam as he lunged forward in a futile attempt to grab hold of his mother and keep her from toppling out of the vehicle.

Bess didn't feel any pain as the ATV forcefully slammed into the side of the mountain and she was propelled forward into the sharp protruding rocks. She didn't feel anything at all except the sensation of her soul being ripped from her body.

What's happening to me, she inwardly screamed as she ferociously fought against the darkness closing in around her.

No! Oh, God, no! I can't leave! I won't die! Please, John, help me! I won't go! Noooooooooooo....

And then, there was nothing.

Adam was dazed by the impact and found himself lying on the ground about fifteen feet from the wreckage. He moaned from the pain of several broken ribs as he inched toward his mother who was sprawled across the mangled hood of the ATV.

"Mom, can you hear me?" he whimpered, fearing the worst. "Please say something."

His answer was a rumbling vibration which grew louder in intensity with each passing second. He fearfully looked skyward to see a blanket of bright white snow carrying loose rocks and debris tumbling down the cliffside. There was no time and no place to run as the contents of the mountain came crashing around and on top of them.

"Mommy," Adam softly muttered as he, too, was encompassed by the darkness.

The booming noise of the avalanche was carried throughout the valley and John was gripped with fear when the sound reached his ears. He rushed as fast as his legs would carry him toward the direction of the caves while at the same time frantically trying to reach his wife on her gear without success.

As he neared the area, he was impeded by the newly dislodged snow which covered the trail and made traveling slow and precarious. John grunted from the strain as he used every muscle in his body to swiftly press onward through the waist-high snow. He ignored the pang in his gut telling him that it was too late to save them and tried his best to think positively. After all, they hadn't been gone all that long, he rationalized to himself. It stood to reason that Bess and Adam were probably still in the midst of exploring the cave when the slide occurred and would have been out of harm's way. He tried to picture them in his mind as they waited patiently for him to arrive and dig them out. Oh, please God, let them be safe, John prayed.

As he rounded the corner of a large boulder which had been displaced by the fallen snow, he stopped in alarm when he saw his child's limp form laying face down on a nearby rock.

"ADAM!" John yelled as he madly dashed toward him.

After reaching his son, the mechanic quickly flipped him over onto his back and let out a horrified gasp at the gruesome condition of his broken body.

John was too late to save him. His little boy was already dead.

There was no time to address his grief. If Adam had been caught in the avalanche, so had Bess. If she was trapped beneath the weight of the snow, John knew that time was running out to rescue her. He carefully placed his jacket over Adam's head and reinitiated the hunt for his wife.

"BESS!" John bellowed at the top of his lungs. "BESS, HONEY, WHERE ARE YOU?"

John was in a frenzied state and panted wildly as he scooped away armfuls of snow in his desperate quest. After several minutes of searching, he caught sight of a lone figure standing near a deep pile of snow and debris. John squinted, temporarily blinded by the sunlight reflecting off of the white ground and took off in the direction of the silhouette.

"BESS!" he called out.

As he approached the scene, he realized in shock that the pile of debris was the demolished remains of the ATV. Moreover, the shadowy outline positioned next to it was not his beloved wife, but an awaiting Terrian.

"Oh, no, no, no, no," John mumbled incoherently.

He ignored the creature and the obvious reason for its appearance and, instead, dove his hands into the drift and began insanely digging. It wasn't long before he located his spouse's battered and bloodied form wedged against the grill of the vehicle. He let out a sorrowful cry as he pulled Bess' lifeless body from the wreckage.

"No," he whispered as he fell to the ground. He rested her frame against his chest and rocked back and forth, cradling her tenderly in his arms.

The Terrian stepped toward the couple and John tore his eyes from his wife's corpse to meet the creature's gaze.

"Don't take her," he pleaded, his voice faint and nearly monotone. "Let me bury her. Let me bury them both."

The being laid a hand on John's shoulder and, if the mechanic didn't know better, he could have sworn that the Terrian was feeling sympathy for him. After letting out a quiet trill, the creature took a step backward and vanished into the ground without retrieving either body.

John returned his attention to Bess. He knew that he should be angry, filled with rage at the cruel turn of events. He should be screaming in agony for the loss of his child and the woman who'd brought him more happiness than he could have ever imagined possible. But as he stroked the cold skin of his wife's cheek, he could only manage a quiet whimper.

"Oh, Bess," he softly repeated over and over. "Oh, Bess..."

As the day drew to a close, John carried both Bess and Adam back to the cabin. After gently laying them in their respective beds, he grabbed a shovel and headed out for the cemetery to ready two plots to serve as their final resting places. He decided to bury Adam next to True's headstone so both children could be together, despite the fact that his daughter's body had never been recovered from the Terrians. Additionally, he knew that Bess would want to be buried next to her son and made the appropriate arrangements.

It was late in the evening when John dolefully returned to the cottage to begin the chore of preparing his family for internment. In complete silence, he meticulously cleaned Adam's wounds and changed him into a fresh set of clothing. Subsequently, John returned to his own bedroom to repeat the task on his wife. He bathed her, attentively sponging off the blood that had dried on her skin and washing away the thickly caked blood that had congealed into her hair. John dressed Bess in a clean outfit which barely fit due to her late state of pregnancy.

After returning her to their bed, the mechanic sat in a chair next to her and lovingly took her pale hand in both of his own.

"We were supposed to die together, Sweetheart," John said, leaning forward to lightly kiss her ashen lips. "It's okay. You- You sleep now," he whispered as the light in his eyes disappeared.

When the sun rose the following morning, John soundlessly put his wife and son into the earth. Afterward, he returned to the cabin and rigidly sat on the edge of his bed at a complete loss as to what to do. Noticing that the prior evening's activities had created quite a mess, he began to listlessly straighten up his bedroom.

As he grabbed Bess' bloodstained jacket which had been draped over the dresser, the wrinkled photo of the Eden Ops crew fell from her pocket and floated to the floor. He picked up the holo-still and curiously centered in on his own image.

Everyone in that photograph is dead, John thought, shaking his head.

After a moments contemplation, he woodenly marched to the fireplace and set the picture into the blazing flames.

He sat there stone faced as he watched the photo burn.

__________

You must login (register) to review.