Ancestress
A couple days later, Henry was returning from a year long day and was ready for anything he could classify as food. He turned the corner into the cave and turned back around at the sight. He peered around to stay hidden for he wanted to see her naturally. She did busy work and hummed a tune like the one that comforted him in his hallucinations on the ship. That incident that they'd lingered on with anger now seemed so long ago, since Charlotte had taught him to be at peace. Her shadow was long as the sun lost shape over the flooded dunes. She washed her face, oblivious to her admirer. When she turned her face, the droplets fell reluctantly from her eyelashes and glistened on her lips. Her shadow was more than a thing of beauty, a perfect capture of her faultless profile.
"We are gonna make beautiful babies." he said making his presence known with a laugh.
She laughed a laugh of wholesome purity.
"What are you making tonight dearest." he asked as he came in and leaned over her shoulder. She was rolling her ankles around to relieve her feet, causing him to interrupt his own question.
"Let me take over, just relax." he said taking the makeshift spatula from her hand.
"Ok, but just for a second." she said sitting against the wall. The smallest chill made her coil her arms around herself and lean her head against the wall. Somehow her eyes had closed and before she could catch herself, she'd fallen head first into a heavy sleep. Henry put his finishing touches on the meal when the other guys came barreling in. They stopped at the fragile sight of her but the ruckus did not wake her.
"Just a sec guys." said Henry assuming their hungry anticipation.
"You can set one less place I guess." said Jasper putting down his usual mess of junk.
"What do you mean?" asked Henry, turning slightly to see him. Jasper gestured to Charlotte who was curled up in the corner and out like a light.
"Oh, I see." he realized, brushing his hands off on his legs. He went quietly to her, crouching down to take a closer look. He grazed her warm cheek with the back of his rough hand. He pulled down the bedding, picked her up under her knees and laid her beneath them.
The boys ate outside the door so as not to disturb her. The understanding was so obvious, it all went unsaid. The next day, Henry would build her a rocking chair. The wall may have been suitable so she said, but he knew too well. He also remembered how much she loved the one from the ship. She found herself feeling colder these days. She spent most nights in her rocking chair, under a pile of blankets by the fire. The boys sometimes teased her as she sat there like that, while they were dying of heat. She wondered if they just said that so she wouldn't feel bad when they gave her all the blankets.
The next many months were full of sitting around telling stories, laughing, keeping Charlotte from trying to help, and staying out of the sun. In the blink of an eye they had tripled the grove of trees, bountiful with fruit, and their baby girl was a month old. It was time to harvest it all as they stood under the shade, the baby strapped onto her back as she worked. The heat was intense and they had to take many breaks. It was always interesting for the boys to watch Charlotte in her natural state, watching any women really. She would begin doing something and they had know idea where it was going to go because their brains were wired opposite. Charlotte took the baby from her back and tried to rock away the tears. As they could see it wasn't working, they wondered how she'd know what to do. She began walking over to the water in soft strides. She held her close as she waded in. The coolness of the stream suddenly quieted the child's cry. They watched as she nuzzled into her mother's shoulder. Charlotte never changed unless for the better, the same person she always even though her life was so different.
She was barely 18 when they'd arrived and was now nearing the end of her 19th year. The self destroying memories her father had left her with were once venomous, but each of them had healed her in this desert. Henry showed her how a father should be. Jasper a brother, Schwoz a friend, and Ray a father of her own. It took time to separate the man from all men, but there was such a distinct difference in Ray and he had sensed that she wasn't being loved enough at home. It was now about midnight and the boys were all asleep, accept for Henry who was getting firewood. She sat in her chair by the fire while the baby slept. She was named Belle and was very short and fat. Her cheeks puffed her face like a plum and her head was full with dark, curly brown hair. Charlotte played with her ribbon, twirling it around her fingers the way she loved while a storm raged outside. The curtains would be flying into the drizzly cavern if Jasper hadn't staked them down. Lighting struck silently and led the thunder into the vulnerable grounds.
She took a deep breath of gratitude for her seclusion. The melodious rain fell hard for endless hours. Henry came suddenly in as he stomped the sand from his shoes and whipped the droplets from his hair.
"Hey.." she urged in reference to his shivering body. "Give me your hands."
Although he didn't know what she meant, he held them out to her with a quizzical scrunch on his face.
"There yours."
She took them and pressed them against her cheek to transfer heat. She leaned forward, moving them toward the fire. She rubbed them as he stood patiently with an immense joy sparked by her care of him.
His thoughts traveled to a slightly darker place as he pondered on the man that put them here. He wanted so badly to give her the life she deserved.
"What are you thinking of, please tell me." she asked, staring up to him as the baby stirred and the fire crackled.
"That man." he uttered. She turned her gaze down with sorrowful regret for the man she'd wished to have helped.
"I think of him often myself. I wish I could have done something for him, helped him somehow.. I don't know."
"WOULD YOU PLEASE!" growled a sleepy Ray. Right as his last word finished, everything around them collapsed. The floor they stood on crumbled and the walls blew to dust. All of this within a second as they were ripped from their home before they could catch their breath.
All six of them uncovered their eyes to discover themselves in new surroundings. Their feet touched the man cave floor while their voices returned from shock to speak. Charlotte turned to the baby to see she remained asleep. Before them stood the cause. The same sharp cheek bones and jaw that fit in to his other broad features. He looked regretful and even shameful, as if he'd admitted defeat. Ray, Schwoz, and Jasper shot up with a thousand questions readied. The man put a hand up to stop them before they'd began.
"I understand you must have questions, and a grudge I'm sure. I shouldn't have left you there for so long, forgive me." he admitted through gritted teeth. His apology seemed aimed towards Charlotte.
The neglected lights flickered, shedding light on the dusty cave they used to know so well.
"You mean you willingly brought us back? How.. why? I don't understand." interrogated Henry. The man looked up from the ground to respond as if Charlotte has asked the question.
"I tortured myself trying to understand your kindness. After what I'd done I was ready to accept that I'd changed for the worse, redemption impossible. Your actions deterred this thought process. They made me feel like my mistakes weren't final and that they weren't permanently defining. Ill take the consequences if it means you can go back to the life I stole from you. All of you."
Charlotte took his words in a complete euphoric, satisfactory reception. She'd only dreamt of having this kind of impact on another, and such an impact she'd had. Her hand sat over her full heart as she smiled at him so warmly. She opened her mouth to speak when the sound of her child's waking turned her attention. She quickly picked her up and she calmed down, falling back asleep in her arms. The man's face dropped to the floor in horror. He pointed slightly to the child he hadn't noticed, fear dripping from the twisted expression that he tried to vocalize.
"Where did this child come from?"
Charlotte tried desperately to read his face as her heart beat hastened.
"She's ours." she replied with fear of his response as Henry played with the little hand wrapped around his finger. He stared at the young friends in shock of their development.
"Seems I may have done you somewhat of a favor then. Regardless, you must go back now." he decidedly spoke as he readied the device.
"Wait, why?!" begged Henry as the others huddled closer.
"The child will likely not survive this Earth. The planet I sent you to was wiped out by the virus I gave you two when we first met."
"Good memories.." interrupted Jasper.
"Now that your immune, you've passed the gift onto your child but the immune system is a complicated thing. She would not be able to fight the millions of viruses that surround us now. If your friends go back with you, I will send more of the cure with them. It's only a matter of time before they contract it. But you must make your decision quickly, the window of teleportation is small and the next one isn't for several years."
They looked around to each other with zero hesitation in anyone's decision. They knew exactly what they wanted. Ray held his hand out to receive the silver canister of antidote.
"You two kids will be the bearer of generations that will thrive on your new world. A heavy burden, but they will flourish in the new beginning and rebirth of a planet.". With his last word he flipped the switch with a nod. In a moments hurricane, they touched down on the beautiful sandy floor they almost mourned. They were back where they belonged and content in the happiness their home brought. They couldn't help but smile at each other, knowing they were in the right place. The Earth they'd miss was dim when compared to the planet with no more unsolved mysteries and endless possibilities. They settled back into the land they loved and lived the life of those with a steady purpose and a clean slate. Henry and Charlotte were indeed the ancestors that bore a conquering people of harmony and wisdom who would go on to tell stories of a super hero and his sidekick who fell in love with the quirky, curly haired, genius girl that sat at the monitor.