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Stories from the Verse
Con Verse Lea
Chapter 3: Takano 60
Table of Contents
Previous chapter: Beam 118
Tommy followed Lauren back to their gear, where Lauren finished packing her sleeping and other equipment mostly into her wagon. Then she looked at Tommy.
“Are you ready to go?”
Tommy nodded.
“Good. Let’s see what God is willing to do here,” and she walked out into the middle of the clear space in the room. “People?” she called. “Empire of Beam? Can I have you all in a large circle here, around me?”
The people had been milling about, but now slowly gathered as requested. They might not know who Lauren is, but with her red cowelled robe over black chainmail, she stood out. Lauren continued.
“We haven’t been properly introduced. My name is Lauren Hastings; you can call me Lauren. Mister Beam and his companions have been unavoidably called away and will no longer be with us. You will continue to be led by your leaders, Varlax, Gram, and Torin. My friend Tommy,” and she pointed at Tommy, who had been standing behind the circle on one side. Tommy sheepishly blushed and raised a hand, and Lauren continued, “Tomiko Takano, and I will help and advise for the present.”
She cleared her throat.
“I am persuaded that God sent you Mister Beam, much as He sent Moses to Israel, to lead you from the danger of the land in which you lived into a promised land, which lies beyond that door. Like Moses, Mister Beam was forbidden to enter the promised land himself, but left the completion of the journey to you. You have a lot of hard work and hard times ahead, but sunshine and fresh air await, a whole new world. As to the rest, we discover it as we move ahead on our adventure.”
Lauren then glanced around, closed her eyes for a moment, and began moving in a strange shuffling dance. This continued for a moment, and then she stopped, and stared seemingly expectantly at the top of the ramp.
She stood there for most of a minute, then abruptly turned and walked to that large overhead door Mister Beam had been attempting to open earlier. She banged on it with one hand, and shouted words Tommy recognized, “Knock, and the door shall be opened to you.”
There was a brief pause, then a loud electrical hum and a shudder, and the door slid upward. A cool fresh breeze wafted in from a brightly lit world of green below and blue above, and the people gasped collectively.
“Varlax,” Lauren said, then, “Gram, Torin, please take your people out into their new world.
There is a behind-the-writings look at the thoughts, influences, and ideas of this chapter, along with twenty other sequential chapters of this novel, in mark Joseph "young" web log entry #460: Versers Reorganize. Given a moment, this link should take you directly to the section relevant to this chapter. It may contain spoilers of upcoming chapters.
As to the old stories that have long been here:
