Szarglopian Cuisine ©2011
Chapter 14: The Truth Revealed
Three days had passed, the equivalent of 140 earth hours, in the massive musky underground dome since Gabe and the children were deposited by their ruthless abductors. A small hovering craft that resembled something of a lawn-tractor sped across the dirt. It was being flown by a hefty and more portly Terra-Toga. The ship deposited large heaps of cooked Szarglopian rice in corn rows across the plane. The human cattle approached on all sides of the rice, and knelt down to scoop handfuls of the sandy red grains into their mouths.
Gabe knelt down and participated in the feeding. Hameed reluctantly scooped some into his finger tips, and nibbled. Kim was standing with her arms folded behind her father.
Gabe, beginning to look weathered from this predicament, used one of his faint breaths to encourage his daughter, "You should eat Kim. You need to eat something."
"I already told you. I don't think it's a good idea."
"We've been over this."
"And you know that I'm probably right."
"Is it true Mr. Fulton?" asked Hameed with rice on his lips.
"Is what true?"
"Dad. Why won't you just admit it?" asked Kim with a ferocious attitude.
"We don't know anything!" shouted the old man.
Kim turned and looked away into the ceiling of the dome, "What else could they be planning with us then?"
"I'm telling you that we don't know enough about anything to make any conclusions. If we start making things up in our heads, it's just going to make us lose hope."
"If we start thinking about what could really be in store for us, it might give us the motivation to get the f…!"
"Language, Kim! I'm still your father!"
"We should not be eating that stuff. We should be looking for a way out of here."
Gabe stood and turned his daughter's cheek so he could look into her eyes.
"I'm really impressed with your bravery, Kim. But we need to be patient. Making irrational decisions could get us hurt, or even killed. I don't want anything to happen to you."
Kim's large pouting eyes consoled her father, and let him know that she understood his duty as a parent, which she respected, unlike a lot of adolescents, but she was still defiant in her stance. "They're going to eat us dad."
Gabe shook his head and would not have it.
"They're going to eat us dad!"
"Kimberly! Calm down," he said grabbing her shoulders.
She pulled out of his grip, and shouted at the humans in her space, "They're going to eat us! They're going to eat all of us!! You know it's true! We need to get out of here!! We need to get out of here! They're going to eat us!!!" Kim caved into a maniacal scream that wailed out into the venue, turning the heads of a hundred or more humans feeding. She fell to the dirt. Gabe grabbed her arm and her gnashing pulled him clumsily onto the ground where they both collapsed on their backs.
"Damnit Kim! Get a grip. We need to stay calm!"
The girl beat her fists against her father, as they struggled, side-by-side. She ran out of physical strength quickly, as it all seemed to be absorbed by her psychological surrender. Her dark red hair fell into her face and mouth, and the tears fell into the dirt next to her.
"Wait a minute," said Hameed. "I know that lady." The boy stood slowly and tried to focus on an older woman that was feeding not far down the line. "Yeah! I know that woman. Hey Kim, it's the woman we saw in the alley." His face coiled into a characteristic Arabic grin, and he automatically walked over to the lady.
She looked up at him where she crouched. "Do I know you?" she asked with a kind regard.
"I tried to save you in the alley."
She stood slowly and made the connection, "That was you?"
"Yes," smiled Hameed.
"My dear boy," the fifty-year-old wrinkles of her face turned upward into a charismatic glowing grin, "You are so brave. Thank you so much." And she put her arms around him, and wept for a moment.
"Miss Baker?" Gabe's voice called from behind the hugging couple.
The woman pulled away from Hameed, and cast her eyes on Mr. Fulton. "Yes?"
"Ruth Baker?"
"That's me."
"Gabe Fulton."
They're exchange reeled back to the 1960's, and soon they were overcome with a dozen vivid recollections.
"Is that you?" the woman cried out.
Hameed put his arms around Kim who was holding her father's hand.
"You know each other?" asked the boy.
"We sure do," said Gabe with some sly regard. "This is my daughter Kim, and her friend Hameed."
"Kim was with me in the alley also. How is your hand doing?"
The woman lifted the hand that was pierced by the Marmell hook. There was something of a scar, but the flesh was healed over quite impressively.
"Wow! You're a fast healer," said Hameed.
"They fixed it with some kind of heat ray," said the woman. "I'm not sure how they did it."
"So they do care about us?" the boy asked preconceiving the nature of the aliens.
There was a long stare that took place between the adults. "I'm afraid you're daughter is right, Gabe," said Ruth.
"What do you mean?"
"They're going to eat us," her eyes, a pool of wisdom and compassion did not lose contact with Gabe's.
"How can you know this for sure?" he glared back.
Kim began to weep silently again.
"I'll show you."
______________________________________________________________________________
Moments later, their new acquaintance took them on a steep hike up the dirt terraces that led to the dark yellow transparent ceiling of the dome. When they got there, she used the sleeve of her bathrobe to wipe a circle on the steamy glass-like dome wall.
Kim and Hameed shuffled close to her to see what was outside the foggy window.
Gabe pushed them back. "No!" He said. "You two stay right where you are." The old man took his first look at the exterior of this venue, and beheld strange visions. There were rivers of bright green lava that lit up the atmosphere. This was the yellow-green light that illuminated the stadium. It was evident that there was a ceiling above the ceiling they were under. But this was made of rock.
"We're underground?" he asked.
Ruth Ann was coy for an older woman, and smiled with affirmation shaking her head.
"What is that over there?" The old man was referring to another venue that seemed to project from the rock wall in the distance. This one was dismal, and had the frightful presence of a demonic temple almost. It even sloped out of the chasm like the side of a pyramid that was jammed in. There were windows on the building, and red lights seemed to strobe the shadows of an assembly line; an industrial facility, without a doubt, that may have belonged to Satan himself.
Gabe looked over and saw the faces of Ruth, Kim, and Hameed studying the same hellish structure.
"What's going on over there?" he asked. "What are they doing?"
Ruth continued to grin with intelligence at Gabe, suggesting that he already knew the answer.
Gabe's mind ruminated over the reality; a lifelong butcher stuck on the opposite end of the dilemma. His face became long and his eyes began to accept this scenario with great worry. He flinched when a man tapped him on the shoulder. It was a Hispanic. He turned quickly on the dirt and noticed several of them sitting close by.
"You guys planning an escape, hombre?" the mustached man asked.
"What?" asked Gabe, still in a funk.
"Looks like you guys is up here planning an escape, yo!"
Gabe stuttered, "Uh?"
"Do you guys know a way out?" asked Hameed, not bashful.
The Mexican's nodded.
Kim finally reincarnated from her emotional vent. "Where is it?" she asked deliberately.
"We can show you," said the Mexican, "but you can't get out with these damn bugs on our ears. If you could figure out a way to get them off….maybe."
Gabe reached around his back, and retrieved the small pair of garden shears that he had salvaged in the Marmell capsule. He held them up and looked at them, almost hypnotically.
The Mexicans all beamed out a series of toothy grins.
Three days had passed, the equivalent of 140 earth hours, in the massive musky underground dome since Gabe and the children were deposited by their ruthless abductors. A small hovering craft that resembled something of a lawn-tractor sped across the dirt. It was being flown by a hefty and more portly Terra-Toga. The ship deposited large heaps of cooked Szarglopian rice in corn rows across the plane. The human cattle approached on all sides of the rice, and knelt down to scoop handfuls of the sandy red grains into their mouths.
Gabe knelt down and participated in the feeding. Hameed reluctantly scooped some into his finger tips, and nibbled. Kim was standing with her arms folded behind her father.
Gabe, beginning to look weathered from this predicament, used one of his faint breaths to encourage his daughter, "You should eat Kim. You need to eat something."
"I already told you. I don't think it's a good idea."
"We've been over this."
"And you know that I'm probably right."
"Is it true Mr. Fulton?" asked Hameed with rice on his lips.
"Is what true?"
"Dad. Why won't you just admit it?" asked Kim with a ferocious attitude.
"We don't know anything!" shouted the old man.
Kim turned and looked away into the ceiling of the dome, "What else could they be planning with us then?"
"I'm telling you that we don't know enough about anything to make any conclusions. If we start making things up in our heads, it's just going to make us lose hope."
"If we start thinking about what could really be in store for us, it might give us the motivation to get the f…!"
"Language, Kim! I'm still your father!"
"We should not be eating that stuff. We should be looking for a way out of here."
Gabe stood and turned his daughter's cheek so he could look into her eyes.
"I'm really impressed with your bravery, Kim. But we need to be patient. Making irrational decisions could get us hurt, or even killed. I don't want anything to happen to you."
Kim's large pouting eyes consoled her father, and let him know that she understood his duty as a parent, which she respected, unlike a lot of adolescents, but she was still defiant in her stance. "They're going to eat us dad."
Gabe shook his head and would not have it.
"They're going to eat us dad!"
"Kimberly! Calm down," he said grabbing her shoulders.
She pulled out of his grip, and shouted at the humans in her space, "They're going to eat us! They're going to eat all of us!! You know it's true! We need to get out of here!! We need to get out of here! They're going to eat us!!!" Kim caved into a maniacal scream that wailed out into the venue, turning the heads of a hundred or more humans feeding. She fell to the dirt. Gabe grabbed her arm and her gnashing pulled him clumsily onto the ground where they both collapsed on their backs.
"Damnit Kim! Get a grip. We need to stay calm!"
The girl beat her fists against her father, as they struggled, side-by-side. She ran out of physical strength quickly, as it all seemed to be absorbed by her psychological surrender. Her dark red hair fell into her face and mouth, and the tears fell into the dirt next to her.
"Wait a minute," said Hameed. "I know that lady." The boy stood slowly and tried to focus on an older woman that was feeding not far down the line. "Yeah! I know that woman. Hey Kim, it's the woman we saw in the alley." His face coiled into a characteristic Arabic grin, and he automatically walked over to the lady.
She looked up at him where she crouched. "Do I know you?" she asked with a kind regard.
"I tried to save you in the alley."
She stood slowly and made the connection, "That was you?"
"Yes," smiled Hameed.
"My dear boy," the fifty-year-old wrinkles of her face turned upward into a charismatic glowing grin, "You are so brave. Thank you so much." And she put her arms around him, and wept for a moment.
"Miss Baker?" Gabe's voice called from behind the hugging couple.
The woman pulled away from Hameed, and cast her eyes on Mr. Fulton. "Yes?"
"Ruth Baker?"
"That's me."
"Gabe Fulton."
They're exchange reeled back to the 1960's, and soon they were overcome with a dozen vivid recollections.
"Is that you?" the woman cried out.
Hameed put his arms around Kim who was holding her father's hand.
"You know each other?" asked the boy.
"We sure do," said Gabe with some sly regard. "This is my daughter Kim, and her friend Hameed."
"Kim was with me in the alley also. How is your hand doing?"
The woman lifted the hand that was pierced by the Marmell hook. There was something of a scar, but the flesh was healed over quite impressively.
"Wow! You're a fast healer," said Hameed.
"They fixed it with some kind of heat ray," said the woman. "I'm not sure how they did it."
"So they do care about us?" the boy asked preconceiving the nature of the aliens.
There was a long stare that took place between the adults. "I'm afraid you're daughter is right, Gabe," said Ruth.
"What do you mean?"
"They're going to eat us," her eyes, a pool of wisdom and compassion did not lose contact with Gabe's.
"How can you know this for sure?" he glared back.
Kim began to weep silently again.
"I'll show you."
______________________________________________________________________________
Moments later, their new acquaintance took them on a steep hike up the dirt terraces that led to the dark yellow transparent ceiling of the dome. When they got there, she used the sleeve of her bathrobe to wipe a circle on the steamy glass-like dome wall.
Kim and Hameed shuffled close to her to see what was outside the foggy window.
Gabe pushed them back. "No!" He said. "You two stay right where you are." The old man took his first look at the exterior of this venue, and beheld strange visions. There were rivers of bright green lava that lit up the atmosphere. This was the yellow-green light that illuminated the stadium. It was evident that there was a ceiling above the ceiling they were under. But this was made of rock.
"We're underground?" he asked.
Ruth Ann was coy for an older woman, and smiled with affirmation shaking her head.
"What is that over there?" The old man was referring to another venue that seemed to project from the rock wall in the distance. This one was dismal, and had the frightful presence of a demonic temple almost. It even sloped out of the chasm like the side of a pyramid that was jammed in. There were windows on the building, and red lights seemed to strobe the shadows of an assembly line; an industrial facility, without a doubt, that may have belonged to Satan himself.
Gabe looked over and saw the faces of Ruth, Kim, and Hameed studying the same hellish structure.
"What's going on over there?" he asked. "What are they doing?"
Ruth continued to grin with intelligence at Gabe, suggesting that he already knew the answer.
Gabe's mind ruminated over the reality; a lifelong butcher stuck on the opposite end of the dilemma. His face became long and his eyes began to accept this scenario with great worry. He flinched when a man tapped him on the shoulder. It was a Hispanic. He turned quickly on the dirt and noticed several of them sitting close by.
"You guys planning an escape, hombre?" the mustached man asked.
"What?" asked Gabe, still in a funk.
"Looks like you guys is up here planning an escape, yo!"
Gabe stuttered, "Uh?"
"Do you guys know a way out?" asked Hameed, not bashful.
The Mexican's nodded.
Kim finally reincarnated from her emotional vent. "Where is it?" she asked deliberately.
"We can show you," said the Mexican, "but you can't get out with these damn bugs on our ears. If you could figure out a way to get them off….maybe."
Gabe reached around his back, and retrieved the small pair of garden shears that he had salvaged in the Marmell capsule. He held them up and looked at them, almost hypnotically.
The Mexicans all beamed out a series of toothy grins.
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