Echo

the cairn of rocks that helped protect the Hive and stretched up to the sun. Sensing the life form she detected earlier, she peered around the rocks, unable to locate it. She decided she would scramble up her favorite rock to get closer to the sun where she would be unobserved. She loved to curl up in the depression at the top. It soaked up the sun and warmed her fat belly when she nestled in.
    Reaching out with her long slender fingers, she touched the rock. Her suction-like pads helped pull up her body as she climbed, creeping up the side of the rock. Her head swiveled up and down as she gauged the distance from the top to the bottom. Pulling herself up and over the top, she made an unexpected discovery. There, in her depression, lay the life form; a small human Brother. He wore the coverings humans liked to swaddle themselves in, measuring almost twice her size yet appearing harmless enough as he slept. Quivering with anticipation, she decided to quietly sit and watch, wrapping her golden tail around herself.
    As she observed, she weighed the attraction her Birth Brother felt for his human Sister. She longed to reach out and touch the long fibers on the young Brother’s head; very different from the fuzz and fur on her body. She wondered if it felt softer. It certainly did not keep him warm like her pelt did. She guessed that explained the swaddling. They would not be so vulnerable to heat fluctuations if their metabolisms evolved closer to that of her species; so much simpler. She sniffed, knowing if she consulted on the design, she certainly would make improvements. Her puzzled eyes drifted over the strange markings on his head and the scars on his skin, shaking her head at his obvious signs of disease; the poor human Brother.
    It is no wonder the Womb decided they must be revisited for intervention. Perhaps the time should have come much sooner, before they started to live inside caves instead of the open like herds. And before they learned to practice the wanton bloodlust employed so often for reasons other than survival. They were a lost cause. Banishing all her troubling thoughts, she concentrated on the little Brother. Without realizing what she was doing, she let her probing aura coalesce in his mind. And suddenly his eyes flew open.

Chapter 3
    What the …? Scrambling quickly up on his butt, Scotty scooted out of the depression, edging to the back of the rock. There he sat and stared at the funny looking creature, eh … no, elf. No, fairy. Yeah, he must be a fairy. Wow. He found an actual golden fairy. Hopping up, he made a grab for it. The fairy unwound his long tail and disappeared over the side of the rock. Scotty leaned over the edge, the fairy nowhere to be seen.
    Carefully, he lowered himself down the rock, slipping on the sharp footholds as he descended. Desperately, he looked around, trying to discover where the fairy disappeared. Gee, Mom will never believe this. He wasn’t sure he could convince her unless he brought the fairy home. Holy mackerel, no one will believe this . His excitement gripped him, a touch of something special in his life for the first time. He knew he must find the hiding place the fairy lived in. Stumbling over the loose pile of rock heaped near the hillside, he discovered an enormous rip in his pant leg. Squatting down he examined it. Mom will not be happy about this . And he didn’t even have the fairy to show her. Straightening up, something caught his eye. A golden glint; just like the fairy.
    He tripped over the rocks, his footing unsteady until he located where the glint came from. Digging down between the rocks, his fingers withdrew an object. A coin. He rubbed it on his jeans, removing some of crusted dirt so deeply embedded. He stared, his wandering eye refusing to focus. Turning it around and over in his little fingers, the heavy coin finally revealed more of the golden sheen and a date, 1702. Hmm, it wasn’t even new. He wondered if the fairy left it for him. Maybe the fairy knew of his birthday and left it as a gift to make up for his dad ruining his day, hurting his mom and calling him bad names. If he did, Scotty wished the fairy could make the coin a new shiny one. But at least he could show some kind of proof to his mom now. Glancing around for the last time, he brushed off his pants and started home.
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    The creature stood on the inside of the Hive. She felt full of furious agitation, yet oddly exhilarated. She wished the little Brother had not run