The Devourer

Kera woke in a cold sweat. Shoulder-length, flame-red hair was plastered to the side of her head. Oval-shaped, emerald-green eyes darted rapidly from side to side. Her breathing came in rapid, brief gasps.

As Kera became aware that she was in familiar surroundings, her breathing gradually slowed. Getting up out of her bed, she walked over to the reconstitutor. The reconstitutor was a marvelous piece of technology. It took raw energy and transformed it into whatever the user wanted. The O'Connell's were one of the few families on Ghettis Prime privileged enough to own one. Everyone else used those that were the property of the colony.

"Water, please." said Kera.

A brief flash of light followed her request. When it died away, there was a glass of ice-cold water in front of her.

Kera wrapped long, graceful fingers around the glass, and lifted the ice cold water to her full, round lips. She took a long, slow drink. The water tasted pleasant.

Kera looked up at the domed ceiling of her living quarters, and ran her fingers through her rich, thick hair.

"Lights." said Kera. Instantly, the room was flooded with an intense, yellow light. The colonists preferred yellow light because it was easier on the eyes.

"One-half brightness, please." Gradually, the light dimmed until it was at the parameter asked for by Kera.

Kera's gaze shifted back to her bed. A large wet spot outlined where she had lain. She shook her head.

"I'll need to change those sheets."

Kera's mind drifted back to the nightmare. Wondering about the hungry, dark cloud that haunted her dreams each night, Kera could not help but question what her parents had told her about its cause. Seventeen years ago, on 6063 A.D., cosmic radiation had washed over Ghettis Prime. The adults were unaffected. However, women who were with child bore children with an irreversible gene defect. This gene was responsible for mental development. But worry over this incident had not lasted long, because the children grew up healthy. The only side effect was the nightly recurring nightmare of the dark cloud, which every child born shortly thereafter suffered from. And although it was odd for each of them to have identical dreams, the colonists payed little attention. Kera, and others like her were led to believe the gene defect caused the nightmare.

However, Kera was not so sure. The cloud seemed real to her. And over the years, her sense of it had grown stronger.

Intending to change the sheets on her bed, Kera walked to her closet to get fresh linen.

Suddenly, a flashing red light went off on the wall beside her. Kera put down what she was doing, and placed her hand over the light.

The wall lit up, and Kera was staring at a life-size representation of her mother. Leona O'Connell and her daughter could have passed for twins. The only visible difference between the two was Leona's size. She was a little more plump than her daughter.

"Kera," said Leona with a smile, "breakfast is ready!"

"I will be right there."

"And it is your favorite too."

"Buttermilk pancakes! You made buttermilk pancakes!"

Leona smiled more broadly, and the wall-screen went blank.

Immediately, Kera dropped what she was doing, and wildly made her way to the dining area.

The smiling faces of both of her parents greeted her. Her father, John, was standing behind her chair beckoning to her. But that was not what held Kera's attention. Piled on a plate in front of her, at least six hands high, was a stack of perfectly cooked pancakes! A wonderful aroma engulfed the entire room.

Kera took a long, deep breath, then hastily made her way over to her seat. John pushed her seat in.

Forgetting her manners, Kera tore into the stack of pancakes. On the other side of the table, her parents exchanged knowing glances.

Preferring to savor each bite, John and Leona ate their breakfast at a more leisurely pace. Even though they did not want to admit it, they enjoyed pancakes just as much as Kera did.

After a while, Kera slowed down. Her plate was nearly empty.

"So what's the special occasion?" asked Kera.

John looked at Leona.

"Go ahead." said Leona softly. "Tell her."

"Tell me what?"

"Since it is your sixteenth birthday," began John, "and you have been very good this year, we have decided to let you ride the Magno-Rail."

Bucking her eyes, Kera was speechless.

"Close your mouth dear." said Kera's mother with a smile. "No need to let bugs in it."

"But, I thought only adults could ride the Magno-Rail." said Kera.

"Well, today's your lucky day," said John. John thought back to the minor miracle that had allowed him to pull this off. He had a friend who worked in the Magno-Rail station that had owed him a big favor. When John had initially told Cedric what he had intended, he had met stiff resistance. In the end, it had been Kera's size that had won John over. At sixteen, she was larger than most adults.

From that moment, Kera's remaining pancakes became even more flavorful.

Only adults were allowed to ride the Magno-Rail because of the tremendous speed they reached. Children could not handle the pressure that the frictionless trains generated.

A giddy feeling moved throughout Kera's body. She would be the first amongst her friends to ride the Magno-Rail. What an honor!

Barely able to contain her excitement, Kera quickly finished breakfast. She washed her hands and face thoroughly, then made her way to the front room where her father was already waiting for her.

"Are you ready dear?" asked John.

Kera did not answer. Twisting her mouth into a half-smile, she just stared at her father.

John chuckled softly. He had not expected an answer to his question anyway. And he thought Kera's face was so cute when she smiled like that! Together, they left the house.

John and Kera stepped onto a sprawling glass walkway. Huge and tube shaped, the glass walkways interconnected homes and workplaces. Taken as a whole, the effect was one of a gigantic maze. One that the colonists knew well.

Looking upward, Kera stared at the dome that protected the Ghettis Prime colony. Stars twinkled in the distance. She also saw a streaking comet. These were regular occurrences, but they never failed to amaze her.

Kera's gaze was drawn downwards towards the multicolored lights flashing below her. A child's delight. But there was one in particular which caught her attention. It was a huge green light towards which they were walking. The depot for the Magno-Rail. Kera's pulse began to quicken. Her palms were sweaty, and there was an intense light in her eyes. I will be the first, she thought giddily.

A short time later, they were in front of the Magno-Rail depot.

"What is that low, humming sound father?" asked Kera.

"That sound is being generated by the Pulse machines Kera. They make the magnetic force used to run the trains."

Something about what John said did not sit well with Kera. But she could not put her finger on what that was.

Entering the Magno-Rail depot, Kera looked around nervously. In front of her was one of the Magno-Rail trains. Lightweight and sleek, they were built for speed. However, the jet-black train was not foremost in her thoughts. For some reason, she was no longer as interested in the Magno-Rail. Instead, she was being drawn towards the Pulse machines. Kera began to walk to them.

"Kera," said John, "the train is this way."

Kera did not respond. She continued to walk to the Pulse.

"Kera!" said John sharply. "Come here!"

Briefly, Kera looked at her father. Then she continued on.

John rushed up, and stood beside his daughter.

"Kera, what's wrong?"

Something...something bad is happening."

"What are you talking about Kera?" asked John. Concern shown in his face.

Kera reached out and touched the Pulse. Immediately, her conscious mind expanded. Understanding flowed in. Kera shrieked, and pulled back her hands as if burned.

John's eyes bucked. "Kera!" he shouted, and grabbed her hands. Examining them closely, he found no marks.

"Kera? What is it?" asked John. "What is wrong with you?"

"Oh! Father!" screamed Kera. "They are all dead! The cloud killed everyone on Rikar!"

"What are you..." John's thought was never finished. The emergency alarm went off. This is not good, thought John. Taking Kera's hand, he quickly made his way to the nearest monitor. Twenty or thirty other colonists milled around the same screen.

"Fellow colonists," said the Overmaster, we have just lost contact with Rikar." An audible gasp rose from the throats of the people around them. "Before contact was lost, there was a visual of a large, dark cloud, then a lot of screaming." He paused. "I fear something terrible has befallen our sister planet."

"They are all dead." said Kera in a serious tone.

Some of the people in the crowd turned toward her.

Immediately, John grabbed his daughter's hand. He did not know what was going on, but he had a good idea that Kera did. How was anyone's guess. Dragging her through the crowd, John had one purpose in mind. They were going to see the Overmaster.
**************************************************

Overmaster Krell paced back and forth. There was a deep frown on his face.

Krell's gaze fell upon Kera. Kera locked eyes with the Overmaster, and did not budge an inch.

"How can any of this possibly be true, Kera?" asked Krell rather emphatically. "We are in a state of emergency! I do not have time for games!" Krell's face turned red. He really did not have time for this.

Kera stared calmly at the Overmaster.

"Ships were sent to find out what the cloud was." said Kera. "They never returned."

The color drained from Krell's face. He openly gawked at Kera.

"How did you know that?" said Overmaster Krell.

"Is it not true, Overmaster?" asked Kera. She was not sure how she knew, but she was not about to let the Overmaster know that.

Krell sat down in his seat with a thump. All the disbelief and anger that he had shown earlier was gone.

Krell sighed. Our lives are in danger, he thought, and I have to rely on a child. He raised his eyes to Kera's face.

"What do we need to do, Kera?" asked Overmaster Krell with resignation in his voice.

"Do you know the other children, like me, who were affected by the cosmic radiation?"

"Well...yes, but..." started the Overmaster, but John cut him off.

"We need all of those children gathered together." said John.

Kera looked at John. Gratitude shown in her face. She needed her father's support.

"And we will need as many of the Pulse that you can gather." stated Kera.

"Done." said the Overmaster. "Within the hour, I will have everything you want in the Central Stadium."

"Thank you, Overmaster Krell." said John and Kera in unison. As one, they left Krell's office.

Behind them, Krell was contacting the people he needed to make John and Kera's request a reality. I hope this works, he thought. But in either case, he was going to spend the remaining time, approximately six hours before the cloud reached Ghettis Prime, with his family.
**************************************************

Leona was crying. Profusely.

"John, this all sounds too crazy!" she screamed. "My daughter will not be put in danger!"

John continued to try in vain to console his wife. He was getting nowhere.

"Mom," said Kera, "I know it is hard to believe, but this may be our only chance." She looked at Leona with a steely gaze. "If I do nothing, we will all die. At least this way we have a chance."

Leona's weeping slowed. She looked at Kera with new eyes. Kera was no longer a little girl to be protected and mothered.

Kera is old enough to make her own decisions, thought Leona, and I have to respect that.

"Come here Kera." said Leona. She sounded as if she had just made a decision that cut her to the core.

Kera walked into her mother's arms. Arms that had been a source of comfort whenever she felt threatened.

"I love you, Kera."

"I love you too, Mom."

Tears began to pour down Kera's cheeks. She tore herself away from her mother's warm embrace and rushed out of the house.

John took Leona in his arms, and she cried fresh tears, soaking the front of his shirt. John looked at the door closing behind Kera. "Please God," he said softly, "don't let it end like this."
**************************************************

Kera stepped into the Central Stadium. Everything that was loose, and could possibly fly around once the Pulse were turned on, had been removed. Looking around at the faces before her, Kera guessed there were at least five hundred children gathered. All of them her age.

Kera stood up on the stage, and addressed the curious faces before her.

"I know you may not understand why you are here," began Kera, "but it is necessary." The other children began to shuffle. "You will all understand soon enough." Kera took a breath. "Those Pulse behind you," Kera pointed at the machines lining the walls, "I need you each to go to one. If there are not enough, share."

Before the other children had a chance to object, Kera threw the switch. Nearly three hundred machines came whirring to life.

The breath was knocked from Kera's lungs. She had not been prepared for the strength of the magnetic surge.

Gradually, Kera's breath returned. She looked at the others. Each of them were walking towards the Pulse. Like moths to a flame.

A single unit had been placed on the stage. Kera smiled. The Overmaster would have to be thanked for his foresight. If they survived this.

Kera walked over to the Pulse machine. She took a deep breath. Reaching out, Kera placed both hands firmly on the Pulse. Her mind began to expand. Kera went with the feeling.
**************************************************

Overmaster Krell stood side by side with his wife. Like many of the other colonists, they were outside on the glass walkways. Staring upward, he looked through the Dome, and at the odd cloud which was moving rapidly toward Ghettis Prime.

Briefly glancing at his watch, he noticed that over four hours had passed. Time was running out.
**************************************************

Kera could sense the minds of the other children. She was aware that time was running short, and they had to do something. Fast.

Kera focused on one of the minds which was particularly strong, and mentally 'pushed'. There was an audible pop, and then she was within the boy's mind. Interesting, thought Kera. Minds had different colors. This boys was a rusty brown. Probably some kind of ability indicator. Kera pushed the thought away, and focused on what she was doing.

Quickly, Kera duplicated her efforts, and soon, they were all one 'group mind'.

"Do you all understand now?" asked Kera.

Like lightning, five hundred mental voices answered "Yes."

"Then give me your strength." said Kera.

Kera felt her mental reserves growing, and reached outward. Towards the cloud.

Her awareness flowed upward from Ghettis Prime. Kera was struck by how fragile their planet looked. And without Rikar, they were now all alone.

The dark cloud loomed in front of her. To Kera, it looked hungry. Very hungry.

Kera's awareness entered the cloud.
**************************************************

Leona looked up at the evil looking cloud approaching their planet. She was not for sure, but it seemed as if the cloud was slowing. Maybe her little girl was making a difference. Taking John's hand, she walked back into the house. If this was the end, there were other things, rather than morbidly watching the cloud, that they could be doing.
**************************************************

The cloud had a name. And a history. It called itself the Devourer, and had been around for a long time.

There were only a few other things that Kera could understand. The Devourer had destroyed a place called Earth, and it was somehow connected to the people of Ghettis Prime. Maybe they were our ancestors, thought Kera. Trying to find a weakness, she continued to probe the Devourer. But there was none.

Kera drew back when she understood why the cloud had tracked them across the universe. It had an insatiable taste for human flesh. And it intended to feast on the colonists of Ghettis Prime.

Straining with all of her mental might, Kera sought to push the Devourer away. However, she was only slowing it. She needed more strength.
**************************************************

Overmaster Krell hugged his wife close. In half an hour, Ghettis Prime would be no more.
**************************************************

The Pulse were running at maximum power. Their engines whined from the extra stress being placed on them.

There has to be more power, thought Kera. Where can I get more power?

The minutes passed agonizingly on. With each one, the Devourer drew closer to Ghettis Prime.

Kera began to panic. Where can I get the power?

Time continued to pass. Power, thought Kera, where can I...

Suddenly, it hit her like a ton of bricks! Power was not what she needed! What she needed was a magnetic field! And the magnetic field of Ghettis Prime was thousands of times more powerful than that given off by the Pulse!

Understanding that they were nearly out of time, Kera used the Pulse to piggyback a ride on the planet's magnetic field.
The group mind slid easily into the new field.

Instantly, their power increased tenfold. Kera's awareness began to expand at an alarming rate. One she knew she would probably not survive. Unused to the rapid expansion, Kera began to black out. But before she did, Kera 'seized' the Devourer with mental hands, and with a single thought 'flung' it into the sun.

The Devourer felt great pain. In that instant, all of its secrets were opened to Kera. Then, in a flash of light, the sun consumed the Devourer. Kera's ability to hold the 'link' failed her at that moment, and she spun wildly into darkness.
**************************************************

"Kera? Are you okay?" said familiar voices.

Kera's eyes opened slowly. Her head was aching horribly.

John, Leona, Overmaster Krell, and a few of the children stood around her. Concern shown in their faces.

Leona bent over her daughter.

"Kera," said Leona, "are you okay dear?" She had tears in her eyes.

"I...I am fine mother." Except for this terrible headache, she added silently.

Leona took a wet cloth, and held it under Kera's nose. Kera had a bad nosebleed, and her skin was deathly pale.

Kera stood up slowly, with Leona's help.

"Did we get rid of it, mother?"

"It was destroyed in our sun, Kera." Replied Leona. "It's over."

"No mother," said Kera, "it is not over." She paused to catch her breath. "When it was in pain, I could see into its mind."

"What are you saying, Kera?" asked Overmaster Krell.

Kera straightened all the way up. Leona gave her space.

"There are others out there like it. All of them have an insatiable taste for human flesh. And they intend to hunt us down until we are extinct."

"Then what do we do?" said Krell.

Kera suddenly looked much older than her sixteen years.

"The others like me, we must marry amongst ourselves. We will need to start a school, to learn how to strengthen our gifts."

"Then it is truly not over?" said Overmaster Krell.

Not responding, Kera looked sadly at the Overmaster. She would not be able to tell him, or anyone else, what she knew of the Devourer. She wasn't even sure if they would be able to stop another attack.

Overmaster Krell looked into Kera's eyes. "Thank you for all that you have done this day. I will help you," he turned to the crowd, "and the colony will help you do whatever is needed." The crowd roared in agreement.

Kera smiled weakly. She looked at the others like her. All different. All unique. All Cosmic freaks. Yet they were saviors to Ghettis Prime. Inwardly, she promised to try to improve everyone's life. Five hundred children nodded with her. Kera smiled again. If they were lucky, they would survive this thing. But in no way would it be easy.