[Galaxy Of Fear] - 08(6)

“Are you visiting the garden to look for new poem ideas?” Zak asked.

“In a sense,” the S’krrr replied. “I come here to calm my mind and achieve balance. The garden is good for that. Balance is very important here.”

Zak didn’t understand. “Why?”

Sh’shak waved his sticklike forearm across the beautiful scene, taking in groves of trees, watery ponds, half a dozen patches of well-groomed flowers, and a sloping field of grass.

“This garden displays a delicate balance of nature,” the

S’krrr explained. “No modern technology is used here.”

Boring, thought Zak. I’d rather study power plants than living plants.

Sh’shak continued. “No chemicals to make the flowers grow better, no insecticides are used to kill weeds or pests. Everything is done naturally.”

“Wow,” Tash said. “I remember our morn and dad once tried to grow a garden in our backyard at home. We had more weeds than vegetables!”

“And the bugs were the worst,” Zak recalled. “They were everywhere!”

Sh’shak nodded. “Here in the Sikadian Garden, we encourage some insects to thrive. A certain type of beetle called a drog pollinates the flowers-“

“Pollinate?” Zak asked.

“Yes, they travel from plant to plant, spreading the pollen of one to the another. This helps the plants grow. But the insects themselves reproduce very quickly. They would soon overrun the entire garden, if they weren’t kept under control.”

“But you don’t use pesticides?” Tash asked.

“We don’t,” Sh’shak replied. “The drog beetles have a natural enemy-the shreevs. Shreevs hunt the beetles, keeping the population under control. And this is where the true beauty of the garden takes place. The balance between the shreevs and the drogs is extremely delicate. In fact, legend has it that if even one shreev is killed before its natural time, the garden’s balance will be destroyed.”

“Really?” Tash asked, impressed. “Is that true?”

Sh’shak tilted his triangular head. “It is an old story, but who knows?”

“What do these shreevs look like?” Zak asked.

“Why, they look just like that,” Sh’shak replied.

He pointed to a nearby tree. Clinging to a high branch sat a small, dark creature.

Just like the one Zak had killed.





CHAPTER 4


Zak’s mouth went dry. He felt something heavy settle into the pit of his stomach.

“Th-That’s a shreev?” Zak stammered. “And they’re not supposed to be killed?”

“Not for any reason,” Sh’shak replied.

“But what if one attacked us or something?” Zak asked. The feeling of dread in his stomach was growing. “Would it be all right then?”

Sh’shak considered. “It seems unlikely. Shreevs would never attack anything as large as a S’krrr or a human. They only hunt drogs. Besides, a shreev couldn’t do any real damage to creatures our size. It would be wisest just to find cover or run away. The shreevs are protected by law.”

Tash asked another question, but Zak didn’t hear her. He was too busy listening to his pounding heart.

He had killed a shreev.

He’d broken the law.

But no one knew about it.

The thought crept into his brain like a whispered secret. No one knew. Besides, it was an accident. He had only meant to scare the shreev away, but the creature had flown right at him. It wasn’t his fault.

“Zak, is something wrong?” Tash asked him, looking at him strangely.

Zak shrugged. “Well, yeah. A little while ago, I was-“

“Zak, Tash, there you are,” Uncle Hoole said. He was hurrying down the path with Vroon at his side. Despite the difference in their heights, the S’krrr moved quickly on its sharply-jointed legs. The caretaker had no trouble keeping pace with Hoole’s gliding steps.

“I have excellent news,” Hoole said. “Vroon has seen fit to allow the ship to remain where it is until it is fixed and we are ready to depart.”

“As long as it isn’t activated,” Vroon said. “I don’t want your energy fields harming my garden.”

“Certainly not,” Hoole agreed dryly. He looked at Sh’shak. “I see you two have made an acquaintance of your own.

Tash introduced them. “This is Sh’shak. Sh’shak, this is our uncle Hoole. “

“Uncle?” the Slurr looked at Tash questioningly. “You are human, are you not? And you, sir, are-“

“A Shi’ido,” Hoole confirmed.

“Uncle Hoole adopted us,” Zak explained. “Our parents died about eight months ago-“