BooksBarbecue
Back Daughter of Eden
Chapters (68)
  1. Title page
  2. Dedication
  3. Part I
  4. One
  5. Two
  6. Three
  7. Four
  8. Five
  9. Six
  10. Seven
  11. Eight
  12. Nine
  13. Ten
  14. Eleven
  15. Twelve
  16. Thirteen
  17. Fourteen
  18. Fifteen
  19. Sixteen
  20. Seventeen
  21. Eighteen
  22. Nineteen
  23. Twenty
  24. Twenty-one
  25. Twenty-two
  26. Twenty-three
  27. Twenty-four
  28. Twenty-five
  29. GAIA YOUNG. SUBJECTIVE IMPRESSIONS.MISSION DAY 20. 20:25 MT.
  30. Part II
  31. Twenty-six
  32. Twenty-seven
  33. Twenty-eight
  34. Twenty-nine
  35. Thirty
  36. Thirty-one
  37. Thirty-two
  38. Thirty-three
  39. Thirty-four
  40. Thirty-five
  41. Thirty-six
  42. Thirty-seven
  43. GAIA YOUNG. SUBJECTIVE IMPRESSIONS.MISSION DAY 22. 20:05 MT.
  44. Thirty-eight
  45. Thirty-nine
  46. Forty
  47. Forty-one
  48. GAIA YOUNG. SUBJECTIVE IMPRESSIONS.MISSION DAY 25. 15:30 MT.
  49. Forty-two
  50. Forty-three
  51. Forty-four
  52. Forty-five
  53. Forty-six
  54. Forty-seven
  55. Forty-eight
  56. Forty-nine
  57. Fifty
  58. Fifty-one
  59. Fifty-two
  60. Fifty-three
  61. Fifty-four
  62. Part III
  63. Fifty-five
  64. Fifty-six
  65. Fifty-seven
  66. Fifty-eight
  67. Also by Chris Beckett
  68. Copyright page

‘Or I could look after you,’ I said to the Earth people, ‘me and Trueheart who saw you first, and all our family. If the Head Guard can give you a shelter, we could live next to it and cook for you, and fetch you the things you need.’

‘That would be great, Angie,’ said Gaia.

No one argued – how could you argue with someone who came from Earth? – and my old friend Starlight spoke out in my support.

‘Good plan,’ she said. ‘Good good plan. I know Angie. She’ll look after you well.’

I’m not quite sure, but I think it was just after that when a weird thing happened. Strongheart stepped forward, and, fat and old as he was, high as he was among the Davidfolk, he knelt down in front of the Earth people. It was hard hard for him to do so, but with great difficulty he knelt down anyway, brushing aside his son and his helpers and shelterwomen when they stepped forward to support him.

‘I know you must rest,’ he said to the Earth people. ‘I know you’ve travelled far far. And I know you can’t help everyone here who has a toothache or a bad back. But please please help your Family. The Johnfolk are attacking us right now, they’re doing for our people, just over far side of the Dark. They’ve already taken Veeklehouse from us, and Davidstand as well, and if we don’t do something to stop them, pretty soon they’ll be coming over here. Please help us to stop them. We’re your True Family. We’re the ones that stayed and waited for you. If it had been all up to the Johnfolk, there’d have been no one here to meet you at all.’

Trueheart had moved over to stand near Marius – even that early on, there was something about him that interested her – and she heard Marius speak softly softly to Deep about what Strongheart had just said.

‘That might have been easier for everyone, actually,’ that’s what Trueheart heard Marius say. But then, straight away, he stepped forward and spoke directly to David Strongheart, loudly enough for us all to hear. ‘You mean you’re at war?’ he asked. None of us knew the word, so he tried again: ‘You mean two whole groups of people are fighting and killing each other?’

‘Yes, exactly!’ cried Strongheart. ‘We need your help to make them stop.’

The Earth people looked at each other.

‘We can’t take sides,’ I heard Deep say to Gaia. ‘We don’t know anything about the rights and wrongs of this.’

‘How far away are these people who are attacking you?’ asked Marius.