In the yard of the farm stood Drak. He followed the progress of each boy via the mind link. This had been the best performance by the twins since the start of the monthly game. Drak scratched his chin as he thought back to when they arrived fourteen years ago. They were exiles on an alien planet. His one goal was to survive at all costs; he, a supreme warrior, was entrusted with the care of two small four-year-olds. He had to become the surrogate parent, responsible for their education and development as befit the sons of a ruling monarch.
A sudden thought of pain in the left leg brought Drak out of his reverie. A weakly received thought came through <A snake has bitten me >
Almost simultaneously, Drak received from a shocked and anguish Johan, <Did you hear that? A snake bit Collin. Are you receiving from him? I am near, and I hear nothing! >
<Do not panic, > sent Drak, <the suddenness of the snake attack must have caused Collin to pass out. I am able to read his body signals; the healing factor is already dealing with the poison. He should be coming around just about now. >
<Ouch, that hurt, > sent Collin.
<I hear him now, > sent Johan, smiling. <Never would I have fainted from snakebite. He is standing up. He sees me now and is coming this way. >
The brothers approached each other, Collin limping and looking sheepish, and Johan smiling with understanding. They looked each other over, ensuring that the other was all right.
Johan looked at his brother’s leg. “How is the leg now? How do you feel?”
“I’m fine. It only feels like a muscle strain,” responded Collin.
Grasping each other’s arms, they nodded and then looked out under the hot sun and heat. They both received Drak’s message to return; the exercise was over for the day.
Collin said, “If it wasn’t for the snake, you probably would not have caught up to me until the next rest stop.”
“Not so, I had stopped just before you were bitten. I saw the rabbit and thought that you had startled it. You passed out for no more than a half of a minute at the tops.”
The brothers turned toward the direction leading home. They were in complete agreement with Drak; they had had enough of the game for today. Together they began the jog back to their farm. Halfway home, Collin came to an abrupt stop; within seconds afterward, Johan too came to a halting stop.
“Problem with your leg?” queried a concerned Johan.
“No,” said Collin. He pointed and said, “Thinking what I am thinking?”
“Ah, yes!” smiled Johan.
And so they turned onto the next lane branching off the road they were traveling. It led to their nearest neighbors, the Morans. Both brothers were developing interests in the Moran sisters, Sylvia and Mona. As they approached the main house, off to the right, they spotted Jared Moran, the sisters’ brother. He was working alone, loading bales of hay onto a truck.
He looked up and hailed the twins. “Hey, got time to give me a helping hand?”
The twins ran over to him, and each picked up a pitchfork. It soon became a race to see which one of them would load the most. In a short time, the task was done, and they told Jared that they would just go by the main house and say hello. He laughed because he knew their interests lay in the direction of his sisters. By the time they got to the house, cold ice tea was waiting for them. Mrs. Moran had seen them when they went to help her son. They were his best friends—decent boys, and the Moran family always enjoyed their visits.
“Come in,” she said, smiling and holding the door open for them. “Hot enough for you? By the way, who won the race loading the wagon? It looked even to me.”
The twins were conscious of their sweaty condition and harbored the uncomfortable suspicion of the possibility of a too-ripe smell, so they declined the offer to enter the house. They did accept the offer of the tea under the conditions that they remain on the porch. Mrs. Moran brought two large glasses out and handed one to each of them. The tea was good and refreshing and was gone in record time. She noted that though they held polite conversations with her, each had from time to time looked around as if trying to spot something or someone.
“How are Drak and Anya? I haven’t seen them in a spell. Things going okay over by your way?” said Mrs. Moran as she fanned herself. “Hummmm, wonder what brought you around today. I sure know it was not interest in helping Jared or concern about my comings and goings,” she said with a mischievous smile.
Collin immediately assured her that all was well with Drak and the farm and that they always cared about all of the Morans. Johan added that they had been out running since early morning and just happened by this way on their way back home. Laughing at their expressions, she told them that they had missed the objects of their interest by several hours. She told them that her daughters were with their father who had set out for the Talcot farm.
More sightings in the sky had been reported as coming from old man Talcot’s place. People were talking about what Talcot was up to. Since Talcot was something of a recluse, people had asked her husband to approach him. They wanted to find out if Talcot was aware of these sightings or had information as to what was going on. Over the years, Talcot seemed to be most tolerant with her husband, more so than with anyone else in the area.
Jonas Moran told his wife that though he put no stock into the rumors that were going around, he felt obligated to check into the situation. He and Talcot did have a certain respect for one another, and he wanted to make certain Talcot was in fact okay. The girls asked to go along as company and for the adventure of it. They were curious about old man Talcot.
Mrs. Moran did add that she was sure if her daughters had known that they would be stopping by, both would have stayed home. She was sure her daughters would be sorry that they had missed them. Johan and Collin took this all in while Johan sent to Drak. They thanked Mrs. Moran for the tea and took their leave.
<Well, did you receive all of it? >
<Yes. Come straight home. We have things to discuss. After all of this time, I had thought that nothing would change our way of living. Seems I was wrong > sent Drak.
Johan and Collin entered the house some time later and headed straight toward the bathrooms. Drak called out that by the time they finished and dressed, Anya would have food waiting for them out on the enclosed back porch. Drak watched as Anya bustled about and was reminded as always of the circumstances of her coming into their lives. He could not imagine having done as well without her. Her efforts were wholly responsible for the home atmosphere that he shared with her and the boys.
Their house had a twenty-five-square-foot great room, which contained a fireplace and two large sofas facing each other at one end and a large pool table, chair, and small writing desk at the other. Large picture windows on two sides of the walls lit the area during the day and recessed lights in the ceiling lit the area at night.
Drak finished eating and went into the great room. He sat on one of the sofas to read while the twins finished getting washed and dressed. He heard them going out to the porch to eat. He looked up when they dropped down on the sofa opposite him. They had finished eating in record time and had left Anya to clean up.
Drak marked his place in the book and closed it, saying, “Before you give me your theories about what is going on, let me say this, I have kept a record of all of the times we heard of reports of sightings near old man Talcot’s farm. Most of the reports, we were responsible for. They occurred during flying practice. I have never had an opportunity to speak to him, but I have questioned some who have when I go to town. Talcot has been a fixture in the area for the last fifteen years. Seems he arrived a year before we did. He is retired, and his farm is not active. He tends to stay to himself. He is known to be