Behind the Eyes of Dreamers by Pamela Sargent Read Free Book Online Page B

scratching at the soil with her knife and hands. She continued to dig until her hands were bleeding and her shoulders were stiff and sore.
    She looked up. The sun had drifted to the west. Joel was covered by evening shadows. Overhead, the silvery aircraft of the Aadae hummed past, heading for the city. She stood up, staggering a little, and watched them.
    The towers of the city gleamed. Several aircraft were hovering over them, insects over a crown. The sudden flash of light almost blinded her. She stumbled backward, closing her eyes.
    When she opened them, she saw only blackened ruins where the city had been. Then the charred hulks collapsed before her eyes and she saw only a burned-out pit. Nearby, she could hear the strange mourning cry of the Aadae.
    She dropped to her knees and began once more to dig.
     
    Suzanne lay in her room. Now and then, she heard footsteps pass the door. Bits of conversation would drift from the main room up the stairs to her. She lay on her mat, her arms and legs held down by invisible bonds. Occasionally she slept.
    Time became waves washing over her gently. She floated, occasionally focusing her eyes on the ceiling. A dark shape with flaming hair leaned over her and she saw it was Neir-let. “We must finish our task,” the alien whispered. “Please help.” She closed her eyes and when she opened them again, the Aada had disappeared.
    Joel was near. She could tell that he was trying to be silent so he wouldn’t disturb her. He was rummaging in the kitchen, trying to cook the blueberry waffles he had surprised her with one Sunday morning. She turned on her side and saw Gabe sitting against the wall.
    “I didn’t know what they were going to do,” he said. “It was a trick, that girl taking me to her room; they knew I was his friend; they didn’t want me around.” She opened her mouth, trying to speak. Her lips were cracked and dry. Don’t worry , she wanted to say, you can stay for breakfast ; Joel doesn’t mind. She closed her eyes and felt a wet cloth on her face.
    When she woke up again, she was lying under a long coat. Someone had removed her clothes. “I washed you off,” said Gabe. He was holding a glass of blue liquid. He lifted her head and helped her sip some of it.
    “How long have I been here?” she managed to ask.
    “Days. I thought you were going to die.” He put her head back on the mat.
    “No, I won’t die.” She looked at her arm on top of the coat. Her hands had become bony claws, the blue veins which covered her arm were a web. “I won’t die,” she said again, in despair.
    “I’ll stay with you if you want me,” said Gabe. “I moved into the room next door, but if you want me here, I’ll stay. Just tell me.”
    She shook her head, rolling it from side to side on the mat. “No.”
    “Think it over, at least.” He patted her hand. She withdrew it from him slowly and placed it under the coat.
    “No.” She was floating now. The room grew darker and the walls seemed to shimmer. Again she felt a wet cloth on her face.
    When she woke up once more, Gabe was gone.
     
    Suzanne wandered through the large downstairs room and took a seat next to the wall. She gazed at the people sitting around the tables. The tiny gray-haired woman was absent. Warren, Asenath, Oscar, and Felice were gone, as were others she had known only by sight: a big red-haired fellow, a bony middle-aged blonde, an acne-scarred Puerto Rican. She remembered the burned city, and then Joel.
    She picked up one of the metal devices near her. Three cylinders, woven together with metallic tubing, were joined to three globes. The cylinders rested on golden rectangular bases. The whole apparatus was about three feet in height. She wondered absently if they would ever be finished. She put the device down and waited for the Aadae to arrive with more components.
    She resumed watching the people at the tables. It was possible that some of them, even now, were planning a way to resist or defeat the