Chapter 44

5:00 PM EDT trailing bikes on a canyon trail (28 minutes to Path closing)

"How are we doing Mark?" Kara called out to her husband.

"We'll be able to start riding again as soon as we clear this next rise. We can then bike right to the Grotto, maybe a twenty minute ride. I'll think we'll make it with five minutes to spare."

"My God... Never a dull moment... It's getting so dark out. I hope the rain holds off..."

The weather was on everyone's mind as they began the final leg of their trip. Sunset was still three hours away, but the sky was filled with black clouds and the sound of approaching thunder.

The downhill ride for the last leg of the journey became a nightmare race against time and the weather. A downpour seemed imminent, and they all knew a driving windy rain over the rocks would cut down their speed tremendously. Every minute without the downpour seemed like a blessing, and Mark didn't dare look at his watch until they rounded the final curve and saw the Grotto up ahead. He saw the time as 5:22:30 and breathed a heavy sigh of relief. There was over five minutes left on the Path opening, and he thought his team would be through the Blue Ring in two.

They were a hundred meters from the Grotto when an incredible clap of thunder shook the ground so hard it almost knocked Mark off his bike. Thirty seconds later the team biked into the Grotto, quickly jumping off their bikes and running for the open portal at the back face of the rocks. Mark could see Leon, Mayoni, and Kiana cheering them on in the back of the horizontal hexagonal tunnel. There was plenty of room for Mark's team to join them in the twelve-meter length, and Mark shuddered with relief as he passed through the aperture of the blue ring. He looked at his watch: 5:24:44.

Two seconds later he heard a technician's voice on the intercom. "Time mark. Path closing in three minutes."

Mark walked up to Leon at the back of the tunnel, and the two brothers embraced in bear hugs. "Can't wait to hear how you became the chief of police of Tucker county..."

"Aw, the real hero is Mayoni. She got onto the internet in Parsons, has her hard drive full of data..."

"Mayoni," beamed Mark. "Way to go! You the woman! Did the first team make it back okay? How's Lois?"

"Thanks dad! The first team made it back here almost an hour ago. We've been here for about fifteen minutes. The first team is going through decontamination now. Our turns are next. Lois was rushed through and is now in the medical bay on Level-five."

Mark groaned. "Did she need a stretcher?"

"Mahi's been filling us in on the intercom with what happened to Kara's team," said Leon. "It's stuff right out of a horror movie... Lois didn't call for a stretcher. The doctors say she should have... I guess will find out more this evening. At least she's in expert hands now."

There was another tremendous clap of thunder from Earth, and then the heavens opened. Mark's and Leon's teams looked out through the Grotto at the drenching rain. No one spoke. Both teams were acutely aware how much the downpour would have slowed them down if it had come an hour or two earlier. And then, right on schedule, the portal winked out of existence. The tunnel returned to ending in solid granite right after the blue ring. Many sighs of relief were audible as the team members reflected on all their near escapes.

There was a faint hiss as the airlock opened behind them. " * Welcome * home, * " came the technician's singing voice on the intercom. Mark thought she sounded very young, and he idly wondered if she were pretty. "Please proceed to the decontamination area on Level-one."

Earth time: 11:23:26 PM EDT Tuesday, April 26, 2033

Aina time: 11:37:00 PM day 254 of 1436

Kara looked at her watch as she descended the stairs to the medical bay on Level-five. The members of the expedition were spending the night as honored quests in Spirit House, and had had a late banquet in the top-level dining room. News that Lois would make a complete recovery had cheered them all, but dinner was still a quiet affair as people's thoughts turned to the horrors now plaguing Earth, and how their debriefings would begin tomorrow morning.

As she looked at her watch, Kara thought about how strange it felt not to have a leap hour on Earth last night. With the Aina time of 11:37 PM, there was but a single minute left to day 254.

The night doctor raised an eyebrow at Kara as she approached the station desk, but then gave her a smile. "Lois's family is with her for the night. She's very tired, but she's also been asking for you. Use your good judgment, you might want to keep this visit very short."

Kara thanked the doctor and walked into Lois' room. Hiapo, Kalea, and Tal were sleeping on cots around the room. Kara walked up to Lois's bed. Lois was awake and smiled when she saw her. Kara looked around and saw that Hiapo and Kalea were fast asleep. Tal opened her eyes briefly, smiled at Kara and nodded, and then went back to sleep.

"Here," whispered Lois, "the bed's big enough for two. Climb in."

Kara was soon lying by Lois's side. The two spent quite of few minutes not saying anything, and then Kara whispered, "How are you feeling?"

"Not bad. There's almost no pain at all now. The doctors say I should be good as new in a week or two. Just have to watch my diet for a while, no roughage. My body wants to sleep. My mind insists on staying awake."

"Yeah. It's the same for me. I'm exhausted, but my mind keeps cycling through what happened... at Harmin..."

"Your shooting was fantastic Kara. You saved us all."

"Ha. Lois, we both know who the real heroine is. My heart is bursting with gratitude for the sacrifice you made..."

"Oh... Kara..."

"No, I'm serious. I still don't really understand what happened. During your ordeal, I had almost lost hope. I thought that monster had hypnotized you. How did you ever fool him?"

"I fooled him by not fooling him. My body's daze was real."

"But you came back just at the right time. How did you do that?"

"I've always had the ability to detach my mind from my body. Even as a young girl, I would sometimes study very late at night, while most of my body and mind were asleep. I used to wonder if I had a split personality or something..."

"Wow... So that's what you did yesterday?"

"Yeah. I pulled together a small core of consciousness, wrapped it around a concept and isolated it from the rest of my body. The rest of my body fell into the daze..."

"Wrapped it around a concept?"

"I needed an idea to focus on. When I would study as a girl, the idea was what was in the textbook..."

"Oh... So the idea here was survival?"

"Well... No, not directly. Survival would have been too intense an emotion. It would have coupled to my hatred of what was happening. The monster in my vagina would have felt me cheating, felt my fast heartbeat..."

"Oh... So what did you pick?"

"Love. I focused on love..."

"Ah... Your marriage?"

"It might have been an option, but they seemed distant at the time. You were right in front of my eyes. I focused on you Kara, how much I love you, how much I wanted to care for you and save you. Caring love can be very relaxing... It let me fool the monster..."

Kara nodded and then said nothing for a while, resting her head against Lois. After a while she asked very quietly, "Lois, do you believe in angels?"

"Huh? You mean like real angels?"

"Yeah, I guess... real angels."

Lois smiled. "Gee, I don't know, maybe not. You mean like real angels with wings?"

"Well, I don't know about the wings. Just a human body I think... female..."

"Oh..." Lois felt bewildered and began to wonder if Kara was joking around or talking about a real person. "What made you think she was an angel? A flowing robe?"

"... No, she was naked."

Lois blinked. The conversation was making no sense. "Kara, what the heck are we talking about?"

Kara was silent for a moment, having difficulty finding words... "When Steve fired at me, his gun was centered on the top of my pelvis. I'm sure of it. His gun did not misfire. I was expecting to take a .50 caliber round directly into my uterus. It would have torn my pelvic cavity apart... Lois, did you see him fire? Did you see what happened the instant he fired?"

It was Lois's turn to be quiet for a moment. "No... It looked as if he were about to kill you. I couldn't bear to watch. I shut my eyes."

Kara nodded. "I asked Mahi. He didn't see any angels either. But he didn't have the right angle to see..."

"Kara, what did you see?"

Kara sighed and paused for a moment before replying. "An image, a flash, impossibly fast. The instant before Steve fired, an image of an angel. Well, not a typical angel. A woman, her body facing Steve, but looking back towards me. Wearing nothing at all... maybe straight black hair... Oh, I don't know..."

"Huh? Kara, you're not joking, are you?"

"No... I never saw the flash of Steve's shot. My angel had her hand in front of his barrel..." Kara shuddered and sighed.

Lois shook her head. "You think it was a real person? Could someone have run up?"

"No! She was there and gone again in less than a blink of an eye, a flicker of an instant. I think my angel caught Steve's shot in her hand. My real angel... She took a bullet for me. I'll have to report this, in the debriefings tomorrow..." Kara sighed and said again, "My angel took a bullet for me. Her act was one of pure love... pure love and kindness..."

Lois leaned over and kissed Kara. "I love you too Kara." Neither woman said anything else for a long while.

Time passed and both women felt very sleepy. Lois drifted off first. "And I love you Lois..." Kara murmured. A short time later both women were asleep. The night doctor checked in after a while. Letting visitors sleep with his patients in their beds was strictly against his policy, but in this case he decided to let it go.

Earth time: 3:00 AM EDT Wednesday, April 27, 2033

Aina time: 3:36 AM day 256 of 1436

Leon tossed in his bed at the top of Spirit House. His small bedroom faced due east, and sunrise would be in another twenty-seven minutes. The faint promise of the dawn was already visible on the horizon. Leon sighed and ran his mind again over all the events of the previous day. He felt he had so much to discuss with his two nieces...

There was a soft scratching sound on his bedroom door, and then the door opened. Amy poked her head in, saw Leon was awake and smiled. Then Amy and Mayoni walked in, wearing nothing but their nightgowns. They sat down on either side of his bed.

Leon sat up and leaned against the headboard. "Thanks for coming. I was hoping you would. There's so much I have to say to you both, to sing... * I * beg * forgiveness * for * violating ****"

Amy put her fingers up to Leon's lips, stopping his song. "Oh Uncle Leon! Mayoni was right about you. She guessed you'd be feeling embarrassed about what happened. You are so adorable!" Amy smiled and kissed her uncle.

Leon blinked. "Huh?"

Mayoni laughed softly and kissed Leon too. "We've come Uncle Leon, to offer you * Hilahila * ho'ohiki * Are you familiar with the concept?"

Leon thought about the words Mayoni had just sung. "An embarrassment oath? No, I guess not..."

Amy smiled. "Mayoni and I propose that we leave out two details in our briefings tomorrow. The first how you lifted me up by my pubic area in the Parsons lobby, the second how the three of us engaged in oral sex. Mayoni and I both feel no vital information will be left out if we omit describing these episodes. Aina already knows what monsters the men are in Tucker county..."

Mayoni nodded. "The oath is binding even against marital intimacy. We would be vowing that the embarrassments of the others are sealed in the oath and will be kept even from our marriage partners."

Leon nodded. "Wow... Okay. This sounds great. You girls are embarrassed about this too, huh?"

"Ha!" laughed Amy. "Hardly! That's why we're here. We have to offer something embarrassing to us, something as intensely embarrassing as having oral sex with us was to you. I had you in my mouth Uncle Leon. I felt the turmoil in your mind, how embarrassed you were coupling with me. I'm sorry I embarrassed you Uncle Leon, but I think we all know Sal would have been very suspicious if I didn't suckle you to orgasm... Mayoni and I talked a lot tonight, what we could offer you as a fair balance for the oath..."

Leon smiled in love at his nieces. "I dimly see the logic of this, but really, there's no reason at all you have to"

"Hush Uncle Leon!" said Mayoni. "It wouldn't be * Hilahila * ho'ohiki * if we didn't offer something from our own lives..."

"I'll go first," said Amy. "Uncle Leon, it's very embarrassing for me to admit this, but I've always had a crush on you. I'm loyal to my husband Leo, I'll never break fidelity with him. But I find you sexually attractive. I didn't mind what you did with me on Earth at all. Sal's hand was a cruel hook into my breast, but your touch was a soft caress, gentle and loving. And it just felt kind of sexy when you lifted me up. In the car, I was laughing that I would get a chance to fulfill a sexual fantasy of mine. And Mayoni was laughing with me, laughing that life could be so complex that I would have a morally justified reason for engaging in my sexual fantasy..."

Leon stared at his young niece, dumbfounded and unable to think of how to reply.

"My turn now," said Mayoni. "Uncle Leon, it's very embarrassing for me to admit this, but I've always had a crush on my father. I suspect deep down my father feels the same physical attraction to me, but he's not consciously aware of it. I've been very careful my whole life never to flirt with him. I'm sure he doesn't suspect my sexual urges. But in my dreams! Here is my embarrassment for the oath. It was in the early summer of 1424. My daughter Lynnea was a young three-year old and at your place for the night, having a sleepover with Sarah. I was sleeping with Keona and having a very wet dream. I was dreaming that my father was having sexual intercourse with me. Keona heard me calling out Mark's name in my sleep, and guessed what was happening... My husband found my vagina sopping wet. He got very playful and coupled to me in my sleep, separating my thighs and buttocks and taking me from the rear, what Earth calls doggie mounting... He started to set up a thrust rhythm..."

Mayoni shivered. Leon could see she was blushing intensely, and he tried to change the conversation to give her some relief. "Mayoni, for all the years I've lived here, the topic of incest never came up. What are the Hopewell attitudes about it?"

"Ah, that's an interesting question. There's always been a strong taboo against breaking marital fidelity. But in terms of sex for conception and choosing marriage partners, there used to be some differences from Earth. The tribe has tried different ideas in the past, to keep the gene pool healthy. It's not used now, but for the first thousand years here on Aina, teenage girls would often go to live with families with teenage brothers, and perhaps marry one of them. The tribe struggled with different ways to have a higher ratio of male births. If a woman had a daughter as a first child, her second child would sometimes be sired by a male friend who had sired male children..."

"Wow," said Leon. "I didn't know any of this."

"The practice hasn't been common for hundreds of years, and it died out completely after the war with the Paleo. There were major changes in tribal morality. Girls were finally recognized as having just as much value as boys. But you can see how it would fit. Keona had sired our daughter Lynnea with me, and Mark had sired my two brothers, Mahi with Kara and Havika with Anuhea. My dad and I are also not biologically related. Most of the older adults of the tribe, my age and older, would think nothing of it if Mark impregnated me. Both Keona and I would have to be willing, of course. The younger members though, I think they would wonder why we were trying to bring back the old tradition..."