Free The Mendel Experiment by Susan Kite Page B

silent for some time.
    “Did you hear me?” Corree finally asked when the silence became uncomfortable.
    The girl nodded. To her surprise, Corree was able to see the movement, or rather feel it. Or maybe she was hearing it. It was like another part of her brain had opened up and she could hear Esteya’s heartbeat, feel the vibrations or some kind of an aura from the other girl that allowed Corree to see her. Esteya was thin, but not quite emaciated. Her eyes were weak, but her ears were large and attuned to Corree. Esteya radiated heat but was not as warm as Corree. Her pelt was almost as long as Riss’s. It was white, as was her skin. Esteya was afraid.
    I won’t hurt you , Corree thought.
    Esteya only nodded.
    Have you had dreams?
    There was more fear aura. Yes. At first we were told to leave the caves and go somewhere beyond the mountains.
    The fear spiked. There was something else with it. Sadness.
    But we cannot leave the caves. The sun is dangerous.
    That is why we travel at moonlight, Corree explained.
    We? There are more of you?
    They are not with me. They are back in the forest trying to find other families.
    Esteya took another step toward her. “Weren’t you afraid to come alone?” she said out loud.
    Even as Corree thought about it, Esteya must have felt her emotions.
    “You were afraid and still came,” she whispered.
    “Sometimes you have to do things…” Corree let the sentence hang. “I thought it was important to tell everyone why they were having the remembering dreams. And why we are being pulled to the learning place.”
    “Pulled to the learning place?” Esteya asked. “Is that the place our dreams wanted us to go to? Beyond the mountains?”
    “Yes. It is a pod.” There was confusion coming from Esteya. “It is something that was sent to teach us,” Corree explained, trying to show her a picture of the ship.
    “Oh!” Esteya exclaimed. “So shiny!”
    Corree knew Esteya had understood her mental picture.
    “And remembering dreams?”
    “Are you dreaming of more than going outside to a learning pod?”
    “Yes, when we dream, some are remembering things from the past. Others are dreaming about where we came from and what we are here to do. Some have been dreaming for some time.”
    “What are you here to do?” Corree asked, wanting to know if these people had been taught the same thing as she had.
    “Find the important rocks from deep inside the caves for our creators to use.” Her voice rose in excitement as her fear melted away. “When we do, they will send us wonderful things to eat and things to keep us warm. The creators will send others to help us.” Esteya paused from her happy chatter and thought a moment. “At first I thought you were one of the creators or one of the ones that would be sent.”
    Corree frowned. Why the different dreams? Why did Esteya seem so… clueless? “No, I’m not one of the creators. I haven’t been sent. I came on my own. The members of my family decided to meet and get to know other groups. To find out things.” She hesitated.
    “What things?” Esteya coaxed.
    “Like what each group remembers about the old…about the people who put us here. The Federation…”
    “Our Creators? Is that what they’re called? You know a lot more than we do. You must come and talk to the rest of my family!” Esteya reached out in the darkness and took Corree’s hand. Before she knew it, Corree was being led into the dark interior of the cave.
    Even though it was totally dark, she knew where the walls and ceiling were and could avoid the rough spots on the floor. Corree noticed an almost inaudible clicking in her ears. She was startled to realize some of the sounds were coming from Esteya. She was even more startled to realize that she was making a similar sound, something deep in her throat. How could she be changing so quickly? Each mutation came faster and faster. Her head pounded, but that eased as she followed Esteya.
    The cave tunnel seemed