77
THE BLUE FEATHER
“It was good that I packed all those boxes of Sunbelt Granola
Energy Bars. I gave them all out to the children, and they ate
every one. That’s one less heavy bag to carry,” Jonathan told
them.
“I was wondering where you had gone, and I’m glad you
thought ahead,” Bardala told him. “Wrap some cloth around
your face, so you don’t breathe too much ash into your lungs.”
Viviana stood at the front with Trall, and before he went out
into the ash storm, she pointed her finger, and thought of a huge
umbrella, tough enough to repel the stones that were falling all
around, and to deflect them harmlessly to the side.
“It’s working!” Viviana said, as Trall picked up Lena into his
arms. “You will be safe.”
Trall walked out with the absolute faith that his new friends
would protect his villagers. He could see the ash and rock rubble
slide off something invisible, high over his head, and pile up to
the sides of where he was walking. He only had to avoid the fiery
rocks that were already lying on the ground. The old landmarks
were hard to follow, but it was good to be on his way, leading his
people. Young warrior, Jonathan, had given him two strange
devices that he had been told would help him find the correct
path. One was a yellow box the strangers called a digital
compass. He held it in front of him, and as long as he went east,
his people would be okay. The other device had a black button
for him to press, and then talk into a little place on the front of it.
Also, he had been told that his new friends could hear him, and
could talk back to him with the same kind of things that they had.
They called these little boxes walkie-talkies. These people had
many strange things. Maybe they were Gods. He would have to
ask them. He was thinking about his enslaved son, Koo. For four