Order of Magnitude

XIV. Thom's Journey

     The teenager was getting close now; he was starting to recognize nearby landmarks, like the square-topped rock and the great tree. Thom was almost home.

      It had been an arduous couple of days. There were several points when he was sure he was lost for good, or that he would starve to death. But he persevered. Whenever he couldn't find his way he would trust his instincts, and when he was hungry he would hunt for food. It felt good to be so completely self-reliant. He truly was a man now.

      I wonder if Jacques will be there when I get back, he thought. Will he be proud that I found my way there without any help? I hope so. Thom climbed up Pebble Hill, and saw the familiar hole in the side of the ground. Maybe now is the time to tell him the truth. I want to be a bigger part of this community. I want him to take me under his wing personally. I want to be his protégé.

      Thom believed it could happen. That was the best part; it was no longer a pipe dream, it might actually be his future.

      Fueled by excitement and adrenaline, the 15-year-old man ran the remaining distance to the entrance. He burst through with his arms raised triumphantly. The parvs saw him come in and immediately rushed up to him.

      "Thom, you're back!" his mother beamed, hugging and kissing him.

      "Yeah, it feels good to be home."

      "Where is everybody else?" his friend, McCoy, asked.

      "What do you mean?"

      "You're the first one back; is there anybody else behind you?"

      A look of worry passed over Thom's young face. "No. I got separated from the group. They should be here by now, though. I took the long way home."

      The community started to fidget nervously. If a boy could find his way home, but a well trained group could not, then something terrible must have happened.

      "Don't worry, darling," Thom's mother said kindly. "Go get some rest; you look like you need it. They'll probably be back soon."

      "No, mom. Something's wrong. I have to go back out there."

      "But you just got home."

      "I'm the only one that knows the way," Thom said proudly. "I have to save them." He smirked. "I have to rescue the rescuers." Then Jacques will accept me as an apprentice for sure.

      The young man turned towards the doorway, ready to set out on another journey. Suddenly he was stopped in his tracks by a loud, piercing, high-pitched noise. He put his hand to his ears, but that only offered minimum relief.

      "What is that?" McCoy shouted in pain. "What's going on?"

      Thom peeked out of the doorway. "It's the scientists!"

      "Aw, you led them right to us!" somebody in the group complained.

      "They are going to try to take us prisoner," Thom called out. "Whatever you do, don't go outside. Just ride it out!"

      Outside of the community, towering 6 feet into the air, Dr. Moon and Dr. Soleil stood together, operating different devices. After two long days of sitting around and waiting, they were relieved to finally find this place.

      "Are you sure they are in there?" Dr. Soleil asked in a near-whisper. "They're not responding to our sonic emitter."

      "This is the place our little parv went in to," Dr. Moon responded with his blank radar device. "But you know this equipment doesn't work well if they are too far underground."

      Dr. Soleil turned the knob on the sonic emitter up a few degrees. "Just keep your eye out. When you see BTOF-Delta, he is the top priority."

      "Believe me, I know that," Dr. Moon responded. "Just be careful with that thing. You know what happens if you turn it up too high."

      "Yeah, but if they're too deep, then this thing doesn't work as well."

      "All I'm saying is exercise restraint."

      Dr. Soleil frowned at his associate. "What are you afraid of?"

      "You know what happened last time. We need to confirm that it's BTOF-Delta."

      "Then we can kill them?"

      "I suppose."

      "Okay, but we need to get them out here. And desperate times call for desperate measures." The scientist turned the sonic emitter all the way up to the max, and waited with a smile.