I am a very lucky man to be in possession of the memory of traveling to the moon with the Brethren of Leng on the black ship. It is a worthwhile journey despite the destination. The view is stunning, the moon is like a damaged pearl hanging in the space above the Dreamlands like a mystery and nestled in an awesome backdrop of the twinkling cosmos.
My experiences on landing on the moon were not so spectacular.
We landed in a stream of water so clear that I was sure we were approaching a deep crevice in the silver, rocky surface of the moon. I screamed loudly and frantically as we made our descent and my companions, the Brethren of Leng, laughed hysterically. When we landed, I covered my eyes but I heard the splashing of water and I felt the boat bobbing up and down.
“Calm yourself, Scorched Man!” Penglo exclaimed. “It is just a ways down these crystal waters, and we will finally arrive at our destination.”
I quieted as the ship zoomed along, and the view on either side of the ship was breathtaking and exotic enough to distract me from my panic of speeding along a river of invisible water that revealed an incredible depth below us. The moon was rocky and mountainous and all of the surface was an iridescent silver that must have been reflecting the light of a star, though I couldn’t determine which one; there were none in close proximity.
The boat raced past the seemingly barren scenery until it stopped very abruptly at the mouth of a cave along the shores of the river. The cave was part of a large mountain that towered high over the ship. The mountain had the appearance that it was snow covered or made of ice and as we left the ship to stand before the cave, I knelt to feel the ground that was covered in a white sand; it was cool to the touch, but not frigid. I was surprised that I didn’t require any special clothing or protection against the atmosphere of the moon, I wore simple jeans and t-shirt, and neither did Penglo nor the Brethren.
“What about the ship?” I asked, looking back as we made our way to the black at the cave mouth. There was nothing there, as if the ship had fallen into the crevice of invisible water.
“Why would you worry about the ship, Scorched Man?” Penglo said and he walked behind me to nudge me forward. “Your destiny is before you, not behind.”
I was still wearing shackles on my wrists and ankles as we were swallowed by the dark inside the cave mouth and my eyes slowly adjusted. The inside of the cave was much larger than I anticipated and I strained my eyes at what seemed to be a city bustling with activity. There were walkways, like roads, carved into the stone and the roads led to stone structures of various sizes. I could see lines of people pushing wheelbarrows deeper into the cave, and I could see some wheelbarrows moved by two people and piled high with rubies that reflected whatever stray light existed.
Then I saw the beasts and no amount of reasoning, no amount of trying to appreciate the new place where I found myself, helped me to cope with the sight of them. These beasts seemed to be overseeing the people hauling wheelbarrows and I stopped still as I watched them.
The beasts were truly monstrous. They were like giant toads on all fours, and they were almost twice the height of the men laboring before them. I couldn’t distinguish their color, they all appeared to have a slick skin that was deep violet in the lowlight of the cave. They had no eyes on their bulbous heads, and where a nose and mouth maybe should have been, there was a circle of tentacles that jostled and flailed around like they used them to somehow see their environment. The creatures were mostly silent as they stood observing, and a few followed the lines of people pushing wheelbarrows.
The only sounds were the sounds of work being done; metal wheels scraping over stone, the collective grunts and groans of the laborers, and every now and then, I heard a screech or roar that was loud and I assumed that it came from the beasts.
I felt Penglo gently shove me forward and I looked back, squinting to see him in the low light. His Brethren stood next to him and they all smiled with their wide mouths.
“Go,” Penglo said, “show them what a Scorched Man can do. Grab a wheelbarrow and fall in line. We must talk to the masters, the Moon Beasts. We will find you when we are done.”
I watched them and as they approached one of the Moon Beasts with their strange tentacles in the place of facial features, I watched the Brethren of Leng bow to one of the biggest of the beasts.
“Who told you to stop!” I heard behind me, and I was startled. When I turned, I saw a human man. I could tell that he was a white man and even in the dark, it was clear that he was dirty from the work.
“I was just brought here…”
“Get in line before something bad happens,” the man said and I could see his dark scowl.
PRL Serials 