Echo

Let’s get cracking.”
    In the garage, they carried a piece of gold over to a table Jose set up, covered by a thin metal, an ultra-fine mesh. On the mesh sat two small lead bowls. They planned to hold a piece of the gold with a pair of tongs over a bowl while holding a blow torch to the metal until it melted and dripped into the bowls. Simple but effective as gold melted easily. They could melt several eight-ounce quantities, easily selling them in the next two days.
    That would give them plenty of cash to start Peter off with. And Peter would soon sell a larger portion and then they could leave. In the meantime, they might as well continue melting as much as time allowed. Maybe they could sell more when they hit the road. They would need a lot of cash, quickly. They needed to give deposits before they could get the show on the road.
    Leaving the melted gold to cool, the boys went to look for Abby. They found her in the kitchen, watching Echo and Barney frolic in the back yard.
    “Do you see what I see?” Echo sat on the ground in the sunlight. Scotty and Jose looked out the window, not seeing anything unusual. Jose didn’t think it was a good idea for Echo to be outside any longer than necessary. Calling the buddies in, Jose noticed how the sunlight made Echo’s antlers look like golden crystal.
    He noticed that phenomenon before. But today it looked like a new streaky swirly component had been added. Maybe that swirliness attracted Abby’s attention too. They took the two buddies over to the sofa. Abby turned on the overhead lights, sending Scotty to his bedroom to retrieve a flashlight he used to attract night crawlers when he needed good fishing bait.
    Abby and Jose sat on each side of Echo, pushing Barney down on the floor. They turned on the flashlight, asking Echo if she minded if they take a look at her antlers. There was no response from Echo. Abby gave Jose a questioning look. He shrugged his shoulders and shined the light on the antlers. On closer examination, they could see that the antlers actually grew in a very fine design of crisscrossing cuts, very similar to the facets on a diamond. But it was the inside that caught their attention.
    Looking closely, they could see dark red swirls inside the antlers. They seemed to be swimming in some kind of liquid. They appeared very faint, almost undetectable. Jose noticed the pattern of swirls were random … yet they felt some kind of familiarity with the movement.
    “Hmm, Scotty do you have a magnifying glass?”
    “No, but Mama Diaz had some kind of magnifier to read with. She kept in the kitchen drawer. I’ll see if it’s still there.” Returning with the glass and passing it to Jose, they all leaned in to gaze at the substance.
    “Oh.”
    “Ugh.”
    “What the heck?” They all jumped in surprise. There, swimming inside Echo’s antlers were little blood red, almost black creatures. They looked like they were all head and tail. Almost like a polliwog, only tiny; very, very, tiny. Jose felt a chill in the room as their attention focused on the tiny creatures.
    Jose wrinkled his nose in concern. Gently, he spoke to Echo, trying to figure a way not to offend her. He decided a direct line would be the best.
    “Echo, what’s that inside your antlers?” The rainbow pressure in their minds spoke matter-of-factly.
    “Brother, it is I.”
    “What do you mean by that, Echo?”
    “I am me, just like you are inside of you. Do you admire my antlers? They are very beautiful. They are very important to my mission.”
    “Echo,” Jose said. “You speak of your mission and the fact that we’ll help you. Can you tell us about your mission and exactly how do you want us to help? Has your mission started yet?”
    The golden aura swirled gently and silently.
    “Echo?”
    “Brother Jose, there are many bad Brothers and Sisters. Your species was a mistake. Your species does not fit. I am here to make a new fit.”
    “Echo, what does that mean?” Abby asked confused and a little alarmed. She knew Echo thought rather literally. But the literal interpretation of what Echo said sounded scary.
    “Do not fear, Sister Abby. I told you I am here to protect you. I have chosen you all. You are my family now. You will always be happy and in time you will be an Elder. That is the greatest honor in any universe. It comes from the creator.” God , thought Jose, what did he have to do with this? The aura receded and they knew Echo would say no more. Clambering off