Dak And Stell/The Travelers Trilogies

1.14 Splashing Surprise

I awoke the next morning to the smell of something extraordinary cooking. As I sat up, my mind kept going to the strange dream I had last night. It felt so real in that storm on the boat. That was all though. I couldn't seem to remember anything else but the battery and the sea.

"Are ya awake, Stell?" I asked over to my large friend, lying on a bed face down on the other side of the room. He let out a groan the reverberated like a bear growl. You couldn't force Stell out of bed. I mean, due to his size, Stell has never been forced anywhere.

"I had the strangest dream last night," Stell said as he finally rolled over.

"Was there a storm?" I asked.

"Yes, there was a boat as well, but I can't remember any besides that." He said.

Just then, Xalmia walked into the room wearing an apron.

"Are you boys going to sleep all day?" She asked in an indignant tone as she watched Stell roll back over and pulled the covers over his head.

That sheet was no protection from our small companion. Xalmia stomped over to the bed, and with a show of strength, she flipped the bed and it's contents. Stell thundered to the floor with a crash, bedding, and pillows following. Before he could make a sound, she flew out of the room, running down the hallway.

"Well, I've never seen you get out of bed so fast," I said as I tried to keep my face straight. Stell growled and flipped the bed back over right, and the attempted to get back in. That's when I heard the patter of running feet along with a sloshing and splashing sound.

Xalmia rounded the corner and came barreling into the room, carrying a bucket of water almost the same size as her. She headed straight for Stell. The poor guy was crawling back into bed and pulling the sheet back up over his head.

It all happens in a matter of seconds. As I watched it happen, I was like everything was happening in slow motion. Just as Stell got the covers pulled up to his shoulders, Xalmia poured the entire pail on him. Stell roared and tried to get out of the bed, but the wet blankets stuck to him and cause him to trip getting out of the bed.

With her task completed, Xalmia tore out of the room with her beautiful laughter echoing down the hall. Stell fought with the wet blanket and finally got it off and ran after her. He was a very gentle soul most of the time, but this direct attack on his most treasured time of the day had tipped him over the edge. As he left the room chasing after her, I could hear his big footsteps pound down the hall.

"Well, I'm glad to see that they are getting along, but my word, how did she lift that bed and bucket?" I asked to no one in particular.

"You aren't from around here, are you?" A young man asked as he walked into the room.

"No, my friend, I am not," I said. I had seen the young man yesterday but had not been introduced. I stuck my hand out to him to shake.

"I don't think we formally met yesterday, I'm Dak," I said to him with a smile. He took my hand, a bit confused by the gesture as I shook it.

"I am Feldrid, Xalmia can borrow strength from the crystal she wears. I came in here to thank you again." He said. I offered him a seat on my bed so I wouldn't have to keep looking up at him. He was very tall.

"Just trying to help my friend, and that thing shouldn't have been here in the first place," I said.

"No, I don't think you understand. I have watched my friends and family be taken in the night or taken right out of the fields. We live in constant fear that we will be next. Then when you, your large friend, and Xalmia showed up and stopped them from taking more or us. Sir, I'm sure you can tell by how worked up Xalmia gets about the Dark-Eyed-Ones, that they have been doing horrible things to our people." Feldrid said as his voice started to become choked up. "When they came to take us, they didn't take the men. They kill them. We have it the easy way out, but they keep our women and children. They use the children as slaves and brainwash them. After being taken, even bringing them back won't save them. They cause them to forget not just who they were, but what they are and become savage like animals when taken from the dark ones."

" I know that no sorry from me can ever help with the pain you have suffered..." I tried to say, but he grabbed me by my shoulder and stared me right in the eyes. His eyes were brimming with tears.

"You cannot imagine what they do to our women Dak. They rape them and keep them pregnant constantly. Then they take the children and raise them as there own, sending them to rape and steal more women and children." At this point, he broke into ragged sobs.

What was going on here on this planet? Aren't their gods here? Would they let something like this happen? My mind spun as Feldrid continued to sob.