K is for Kindred

Kindred is a sort of creature in my current WiP, Rash and Scarson, almost like an angel. I am writing the book with my older son and daughter, and modelling the twins after them. My youngest son is only 18 months old, so in the book I am turning him into a raccoon, because if you ask me, a toddler and a coon loose in your house are about the same thing. He is Daz in the below excerpt, which is his name in real-life.

I will post excerpts from various writings daily.

---

"Impossible," Captain said. "Finding the map on Earth would be tantamount to leaving the key inside the lock. How could the map be on Earth?"

"Not map," Tom said. "Map and key, Captain, plural, that's what Old Tom says. There are two halves to it. That's why it took so long to find the keys, or make 'em for that matter. Obog discovered them on Earth. We be listening as always to Old Obog, with the ears about our heads, Captain, and we heard him clear as the gloss of your eye, we did."

There was that name again: Obog. Captain inhaled, sat on his heels, and with a forceful mental exertion, he batted away the fury that name invoked. There were so many memories of that man, that thing, and none of them pleasant.

"Earth," Captain finally said, after the head-buzzing quieted. "The map and key, plural, are on Earth. Inside the genetic code of two of hissss Kindred."

"Yes, Captain," Tom said. Fuzzy and Daz beside him nodded in approval.

They were in collusion, Captain realized. Tom had first told the other two of the crew members, then set the course, and finally notified him of the change. After all, Tom was the ship's pilot and first mate, and he was correct: he was following the order to find the map. He was also disobeying the order to never return to Earth. It was the very definition of a conundrum.

---

LEAVE YOUR MARK! Put an X in the comments, if you have nothing more to say.

---

Eric W. Trant is a published author of several short stories and the novel Out of the Great Black Nothing. He is currently represented by Debrin Case at Open Heart Publishing. See more of Eric's work here: Publications