The Flock – Chapter VIII

Blog Reminder: Dear Friends, the way My First Stories Blog operates is that when a chapter is posted, that chapter will be first displayed to read.  If you need to refresh yourself in previous chapters, you must scroll down to read previous chapters and back up to return to the current one.  I know, not easy to use but unfortunately, that is the way it is.  But, the most convenient method is to go to my Contact page, enter an Email address to become a Follower, and you will automatically receive only the posted chapter.  Whatever you choose to do, Dear Friends, I am glad you are reading The Flock and I truly hope you are enjoying it. – Greg

  Five geese were treading before the Meeting Place, treading, and bobbing on the water.  No words had been spoken when a sixth one joined them and broke the silence.

  “What’s going on?” Liza asked as she kept the opening to the cave in her sight.

  “Nothing,” Ki responded.  “Nothing at all.”

  “Well, we are all here for some reason,” Drifter swam in front of them.  “I am Drifter.”

  “Ki.”

  “Jake.”

 “High.”

  “Mattias.”

  “Liza,” she continued.  “Any guesses as to why we are here?”

  “No,” High responded.  “I am nobody.”

  “That’s not true,”  Jake spoke up, “I have noticed you high in the sky.”

  Ki laughed and pushed his friend’s side with the wingtips of his left wing.

  “Drifter you had a very public spill yesterday,”  Mattias stated quite matter-of-factly.

  Drifter nodded his head affirmatively as he chuckled at himself.

    “Still doesn’t answer as to why we are all here,”  Liza returned to the question at hand.

  The sky was beginning to turn to a lighter gray.  A slight breeze rustled the surrounding trees signaling the beginning of something different.  A brown-gray sparrow flitted from the Meeting Place opening startling the small group of geese as did a voice that sounded from behind them.

  “My name is Ack and I am a member of the Wist,” the voice announced, and the six geese turned in the water to face it.

  A large brown goose with a black head and white cheeks on either side as deep, dark brown eyes looked at them.

  “Hi,” Liza spoke first. “I am Liza and -”

  She was cut off by Ack, “I know who you are.  In fact, I know who all of you are.”

  “Well,”  Liza was beginning to show her boldness among these geese she was thrust to be part of. “Maybe you can tell us – ”

  “Why?”  This time it was Ki who addressed Ack and cutting off Liza in mid-sentence.

  Ack swam into the group as they turned with him to face the opening of the cave.  “I don’t know why exactly.  What I do know is that we are going to embark on a journey.”

  As soon as he stated that, the two Sentries, Gabriel and Marcus, emerged from the cave and approached them.  Gabriel began to instruct them.

  “Please enter The Meeting Place.  Swim straight in until you are told to stop.  At that time, turn and face the opening.  Follow us inside.  Oh, of course, silence is assumed.”

  The contingent of geese swam forward and passed through the opening and deeper into the dark, black unknown.  They paddled carefully until they heard the instruction boom and echo around the walls saying, “Stop and turn!”

  They did and saw the gray light sneak through the opening.  Almost naturally, the seven birds floated equidistantly apart from each other, wings safely tucked against their sides, and their heads high.  As the cave brightened with the rising of the sun, they could begin to see each other, and the Sentries posted on either side of the doorway.  The light began to catch the ripples in the water, white sparks beginning to sparkle on the walls of the cave.  Suddenly, the light exploded into a shower of colors of yellow, pink, and orange flashing over them and on the walls.  The colors  became brighter and would recede with each wave of water and  becoming reds and oranges as the light outside become brighter.  The seven were transfixed as they looked on in awe watching the tapestry covering the skin of the walls and the reflection on each other’s feathers. 

  As the light began to lighten and the colors faded from blue to purple to natural, their eyes refocused and they saw two geese before them.  On their right, a large goose bobbed in the water, his chest decorated with black and white streaks, with thoughtful eyes looking at them.  Beside him, a smaller bird, white, and he appeared to be grinning at them and it was him, who began to speak.

  “Hey, was that cool or what?  I love that time of the morning when the Bright Light comes in and places me, and you, right in the midst of a rainbow.”

  He paused and swam forward toward them.  “Hi, I am Deke,” he introduced himself not really needing to because they knew who he is,  He is the Leader of The Flock.  He swam before each of the seven and bowed his head.  After he had bowed to the last of them, he returned to a place in front of them.

  “I guess you are wondering why you have been summoned here so early in the morning.  I wish I could say it was to see that rainbow.”

  Drifter laughed and the others looked at him sideways.

  Deke laughed, as he continued, “But it is not.  Directly, I am losing my eyesight and one of you is going to take my place.”

  The seven geese burst into a bleaking and squawking of noise as questions began to come down and around Deke and the constant echoing off the walls made it seem longer and louder than it really turned out to be .

  “Silence!” a voice boomed above it all.

  The seven settled and The Meeting Place quieted so that the only sound was the waves settling and lapping against the sides of the room.

  “Thank you, Marcus,”  Deke had remained calm during the onslaught of questions and noise.  “Isn’t this room great?!  Now, I would tell you what you will be doing but my friend Daniel, who, as you know, leads The Wist, has to show you that he is part of it, which he is, and insists that he be the one to explain it all to you.” Unknown to the seven candidates, Deke was displaying his sarcasm.

  “Yes,” Daniel swam forward with a glance at his friend, fully recognizing Deke’s sarcasm.  “As he just told you, Deke is losing his eyesight and we would like to continue enjoying the way of life that The Flock enjoys.  We are introducing the new way of selecting a new Leader.  You have been selected, by decisions of the Leader and the Wist, to experience The Journey of Three.  That simply means that you will be directed to complete a series of three tests.  Hopefully, the new Leader will raise to the top.  If not, after an evaluation of the three tests by the current Leader and the Wist, one will be selected.  You seven, are the first ones ever to participate in this process.  Now, I know you have questions.”

  “Why us?” Liza spoke first.

  “We notice the members of the Flock who are skillful in the traits we believe it takes to lead us.” Daniel answered.

  “What skills?” Mattias followed up with a question of his own.

  “Innovation, knowledge of life skills, diplomacy…” Daniel explained.

  “Wait, wait.” Jake interjected.  “I have not ever been very diplomatic.”

  “Really?” Deke responded and swam toward him.  “Really, Jake.  You may be the most diplomatic of all of us here.  Right, Ki?”

  Ki looked at Deke and slowly agreed with him, nodding affirmatively.

  Drifter interrupted with a statement, “I believe the decision has already been made.”

  “What do you mean?” Daniel asked swimming forward.

  “Well, him,” Drifter pointed a wing at Ack. “He is a member of the Wist.  He knows these tests and the “answers”.”

  Deke started to laugh.  He began to spin in a circle as he did and finally stopped to speak.  “Ack knows nothing.  When the Wist decided that one of the seven be one of them, they chose Ack and he was dismissed from the process.”

  “What are these tests?” High asked.

  “Ah, now that is a good question,” Deke exclaimed.  “I do not know.  I left that up to the Wist.  Daniel?”

  “When you leave The Meeting Place in a few minutes, you well head toward the Bright Light and on your way, you will be receive the instructions for your first test.   You may get started now.”

  The seven geese started for the exit when Deke darted in front of them and spoke one last time, “One more thing, well, two actually, no, three.  Yes, three – number one; you may have noticed a small brown bird exit this place before you came in.  That is Simeone and he is the King of Sparrows and a close friend of mine.  I hope he will become yours, too.  He and his kingdom will be tracking the progress on your Journey of Three and reporting back to us.  Two – Take this seriously.  Whoever is chosen, will be the next Leader of The Flock.  Finally – pay attention and learn all you can.”

  He backpedaled away from the doorway and added one more thing, “One more thing, have fun!”

  Only Drifter chuckled as they swam out into the sunlight.  The seven gathered in a small circle and began to whisper to one another,

  “What do you think?”

  “I don’t know,” High added.

  “Does it matter?” Ack responded.

  “No,” Liza added as she turned, spread her black-tipped wings, and rose into the sky.

  Drifter laughed and started to join her.  Jake and Ki followed them together as Mattias looked at High, shrugged, spread his wings, and flew up into the sky.  High began after him leaving Ack by himself.  He glanced back at the entrance to the cave, turned his head flapped his wings to hurry and catch the rest of them.

  Inside the cave, Daniel and Deke floated out and watched the seven geese fade from their view and Daniel said, “And so it begins.”

To be continued…