~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ TITLE: Rock and a Hard Place, part 1 AUTHOR: Kim SUMMARY: Christy wishes on a falling star. DISCLAIMER: This is a work of fan fiction based on the characters from the book by Catherine Marshall, "Christy," owned by the LeSourd Family, and the television series of the same name. I am in no way seeking profit or credit for her story, and am continuing the story of "Christy"for my own enjoyment. Any additions in story and character were invented by me. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ROCK AND A HARD PLACE Part One Christy stood in front of her windows, gazing out at the evening sky as she undid the coils of her hair. One by one, stars began to appear in the growing darkness, the last of the pink sunset fading into magenta. She smiled at the beauty before her. Never in her years of growing up in Asheville had she seen such breath-takingly gorgeous mountains. Since coming to work at the Mission in Cutter Gap, Christy had fallen in love with the wild beauty of the place, almost as much as she loved its children. Just as each child was an individual spirit, amazing in complexity, so too was each mountain different from its neighbors. Christy never tired of watching them change color throughout the day, and throughout the changing seasons. She sighed as the sky grew brilliant with the wash of tiny distant points of light. Life here in the Cove was surrounded by such incredible beauty - and with unbelievable hardships and sorrows. The harmony of nature did not extend to the relationships of those humans living in Cutter Gap, it seemed. Bird’s-Eye Taylor was feuding once again, this time with the MacArons, and the dispute would not lend itself to a reasonable mediation. As Christy gazed upward, her eyes were caught by a movement of light - a shooting star! She watched in fascination as the light - alternately white and then purple - flew towards the trees some distance away. Impulsively, she yielded to the childlike impulse. Closing her eyes, she recited the poem, "Star light, star bright, first star I see tonight; I wish I may, I wish I might, have the wish I wish tonight! Oh, I wish Bird's-Eye would give up this foolish feud!" Feeling somewhat foolish herself for giving in to such superstitious nonsense, Christy retreated back into the bedroom and continued to prepare for bed. Certainly the morning would come soon enough, bringing with it more problems to be solved. Cutter Gap was indeed a place of great beauty, but it was a hard place in which to live. Part Two Ruby Mae and Lizette Holcombe ran giggling to the trees at the edge of the clearing after school was dismissed. They slowed their headlong rush as they picked their way through the trees, glancing behind them to make sure they hadn’t been followed. Finally, they found what they had been searching for - a large, flattish rock, next to others of its kind, perfect for two young soon-to-be women to sit upon. Ruby Mae’s face was flushed with the excitement of their run, and with the juicy bit of gossip she was about to impart to Lizette. “Lordy, Lizette, you shoulda just SEEN them two, a-carryin’ on like they was two polecats in a spittin’ fight! If’n they’d been sober, they’da hurt each other fer sure, but as it was, they could barely see each other! First, one would reach out to smack the other, and he’d miss, and then the other’n would try to smack the first one, and HE’D miss too! Shorely was the funniest fight I ever did see!” As Ruby Mae continued to impart her information about the latest Taylor-MacAron fight, she started to fidget. Soon, Lizette found it difficult to sit still as well. Finally, Ruby Mae jumped up and cried, “What in tarnation! Never did hear that a body’s backside should tingle so!” Lizette mumbled her agreement as the two of them rubbed their bottoms and backed away from the rock which had seemed so perfect just moments before. Ruby Mae was never exactly certain what she saw at that moment, but she caught a hint of purple sparkle as the afternoon sun glinted off the edge of the rock. Lizette’s nose wrinkled in puzzlement, as she said, “Ruby Mae, I think this here spot is spookified! I feel like we’s bein’ watched!” With that, both girls - pretentions to being grownup thrown aside - turned and ran away, and didn’t stop until they had gone to their homes. If there had been a purple sparkle in the sunlight, it died with the sunset, and Cutter Gap wrapped itself in the growing darkness once more. Part Three Wynonna Possum of Cutter Gap waddled as fast as her eight babies, draped on top and underneath her, would allow. Their ravenous appetites were draining her, and if Wynonna didn’t find something good and plentiful to eat soon, she would never be able to satisfy her growing family, which consisted of Conway, Loretta, Crystal, Dolly, Porter, Tammy, Garth, and Waylon. Her mate, Elvis, fended for himself. As the afternoon faded into twilight, she found a likely-looking nest of grubworms, hidden among a pile a large rocks. Happily she began licking at the worms, confident that this evening’s work would begin to satisfy those bottomless pits clinging to her and tucked within her pouch. Wynonna loved her babies, but found the work of feeding their continual demands to be quite a strain. In her efforts to achieve the perfect eating angle, she leaned up against one stone, the size of several grown possums all together. Suddenly Wynonna stopped eating. What in the world were those kids DOING back there?? She’d never known a possum joey to create a tingling feeling like THAT. She turned around in a semi-circle, trying to determine the source of her discomfort, but then the tingling feeling in her rump stopped. She soon forgot about it, as her hunger drove her to finish off the grubworms. Wynonna and her passengers snuffled off into the growing evening, her poor eyesight not allowing her to see a purple twinkling about the rock, her possum brain not allowing her to care. Cutter Gap settled into nighttime once again. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ SUMMARY: A letter home. Part Four REPORT: TO THE MISSION LEADER, EXPEDITION TRI-DELTA 4586 MISSION ORIGIN: GEMMA #1 ORIGINATOR: GRACEFUL THIRD-MOON CLOUD, CLAN-AMETHYST Mission Leader: Have landed at pre-determined co-ordinates. Many organic life-forms to study. Excellent input already received. Samples taken are now being processed. Assimilation of input will be accomplished soon. Stand by for further messages. Extend greetings to all of Clan-Amethyst, and thank them for their support. All Gemmites will be honored by our findings. End of report. ---Grace SUMMARY: Bird’s-Eye gets busy. Part Five Bird’s-Eye Taylor sighted along his rifle, and gently squeezed the trigger. The resulting shot echoed loudly through the woods, reverberating back from the rock walls on either side. He grunted in satisfaction, and stalked over to the object of his attention. “Gotcha, ye varmint!” he muttered. “Thought you’d outsmart ME, didja? Wal, ye won’t be a-figgerin’ much o’ ANYTHIN’ anymore! Hah!” The victim of the shooting lay dead at his feet, looking up at him with blind, empty eyes. Bird’s-Eye spat tobacco onto the ground to one side, and contemplated the right way to dispose of the body. Evening brought long shadows along the path as Bird’s-Eye struggled with his burden. He welcomed the darkness as an old friend, a cloak he frequently used to hide his activities from others. This was one activity he did not wish to have witnesses to, especially any witnesses named MacAron. Part Six Christy found herself speaking louder and louder to her students, in an effort to out-shout the loud, angry voices outside the schoolhouse. Finally, she gave up, and with the entire school’s classes as an audience, went to the school porch to find out what the ruckus was about. She spied Amos MacAron and his two hulking great sons, holding something - no, wait, that was someONE, between them. To her horror, she realized it was Bird’s-Eye Taylor. Without further thought, she ran to the Mission House, hoping to find David or Miss Alice. Trouble was coming, fast! The unsupervised students took advantage of the sudden absence of their teacher, by swarming out into the clearing, to see what was happening. The MacArons and Bird’s-Eye momentarily stopped their shouting, at the sight of the children nearby. David and Miss Alice then poured out of the Mission House, followed by Christy, who gasped when she saw the children so near to the men. An enraged Alice Henderson is a fearsome creature to face, and it was this angry creature who now approached the clansmen. “What is the meaning of this? What right do you have to bring such carryin’s on to a God-fearing Mission?” Her glare covered all four of the feuding men, who visibly gulped from being so addressed. Finally Amos MacAron found the muscles with which to speak, and said, “This here Bird’s-Eye been trespassin’ and stealin’ our food fer all mah life, and lately he been scarin’ our wimmin by sneakin’ ‘round our place. Ah been tryin’ to follow the good ways, like ye said to, Preacher, and Ma’am, but today just tore it. Lookie here who he done shot! We caught ‘im tryin’ ta make a burial!” As the huge MacArons moved out of the way, Alice, David, Christy, and the children crowded forward, and a collective gasp was heard as they each saw the body before them. SUMMARY: Another letter home Part Seven REPORT: TO THE MISSION LEADER, EXPEDITION TRI-DELTA 4586 MISSION ORIGIN: GEMMA #1 ORIGINATOR: GRACEFUL THIRD-MOON CLOUD, CLAN-AMETHYST Mission Leader: Assimilation of biological input of organic life-forms completed. Personal co-ordinates moved to area near large concentration of organics. Contact with local organics to commence directly. Stand by for post-contact report. For the glory of all Gemmites! End of report. ---Grace, Clan-Amethyst SUMMARY: Uprising Part Eight Propped next to a large rock at the edge of the clearing, the pitiful remains of the Cove’s best hunting dog, Ole Tanner, lay in a lifeless heap. Stunned faces turned towards Bird’s-Eye, who still struggled in the hold of the large MacAron sons. David shook his head slowly. “Bird’s-Eye, how could you have shot Ole Tanner? He was a legend in these parts. Even I, a city-fellow and a newcomer here, have heard many stories about him! What were you thinking?” Amos MacAron spat, and then spoke. “What makes you think Bird’s-Eye CAN think, preacher man? He done it out of spite, pure and simple! A man what could kill a good dog like that, why, hangin’s too good fer ‘im!” The other MacArons grumbled their agreement. “Let’s string ‘im up! Hang the varmint!” came their suggestions. Bird’s-Eye sneered and was about to speak, when a scream came from one of the children. Soon, all of them were screaming or shouting, and pointing at the dead dog. To the amazement of all, the body of Ole Tanner moved, and lurched to its feet, the bullet hole made by Bird’s-Eye healing as it staggered forward! SUMMARY: A question of forgiveness Part Nine Bird’-Eye’s laugh filled the stunned silence which followed the re-animation of Ole Tanner. “Ya see! He ain’t even dead! And what if’n he had been? He was a-trespassin’ on my property, and a-gonna get into mah chickens! Fella gots to protect ‘is food-birds, ye know!” Ole Tanner shook himself, sneezed, and walked smiling over to Amos MacAron, who looked as if any stray breeze could knock him down. Finally, he squatted down and ran his hands over the great beast’s head, allowing the dog’s tongue to lick his face. The other two MacArons were less willing to forget Bird’s-Eye. The taller one growled, “Ah still thinks we should string ‘im up fer shootin’ Paw’s best dog lahk that! And fer poachin’ on our land! We’s forgived enough! Let’s hang ‘im!”. The other son grunted agreement, and they began to pull Bird’s-Eye away. Miss Alice, David, and Christy immediately rushed to block them, arguing that since Ole Tanner had not sustained any permanent harm, there was no cause to hang Bird’s-Eye. David said, “And we all here were witness to the miraculous healing of this dog! Let it be a message to us all, that there can be healing and forgiveness, even in such a hard place as Cutter Gap!”. Amos’s bellow silenced them all. “HOLD! The preacher-man makes sense. I ain’t never seed a healin’ like that one afore. But afore I’s willin’ ta let Bird’s-Eye go, I want to hear from his own mouth that he’s sorry for all he done ta us!” All eyes turned to Bird’s-Eye. What would he say? SUMMARY: A rock and a hard place Part Ten Bird’s-Eye cleared his throat, and shook his arms free from the grip of the MacArons. He scowled around at the crowd, and began to speak. “Ain’t none of y’all’s got any right ta be talkin’ of a-hangin’ the likes o’ me. Ah was huntin’ on that land afore the MacArons moved onter it, and I aim to keep ON huntin’ on it. An’ no sorry ole huntin’ dog with one paw in the grave already is gonna stop me from doin’ it! If’n ye think ye can hang me fer that, wal, so be it on yer own heads. But dang me, I vow I won’t stop huntin’ whar I’ve allus hunted before, not unless a giant possum comes out of them woods and steps up and says howdy!” He folded his arms over his filthy jacket, and stood waiting, daring the MacArons to try dragging him off again. Christy, who had been examining in wonder the area where Ole Tanner had been lying before he was healed, jumped back with a shriek. Once again the crowd looked to the edge of the woods, at the rock the dog had lain next to. The rock - it appeared to be GROWING. The grass from around it disappeared, as did a few small saplings. Suddenly a giant - thing - stood before them, taller than any man in the Cove. It looked - it looked - partly like....Ruby Mae? Lizette Holcombe?.....it looked like....Ole Tanner?! ....it looked like...a giant possum??!! “GREETINGS, ORGANICS. I AM GRACEFUL THIRD-MOON CLOUD, OF CLAN-AMETHYST, OF THE PLANET GEMMA. I COME TO SALUTE YOU IN THE NAME OF ALL ROCK-KIND. WE SEEK FRIENDSHIP. WE CAN TAKE ON YOUR ORGANIC SHAPES THROUGH STUDY AND IMITATION OF YOUR DNA. WE...” The rest of what the...giant possum...er, rock, had to say, was lost, as the crowd dispersed to the winds, some screaming as they went. The giant possum rock shrugged, and waddled back into the woods, seeking its spaceship, never to be seen in Cutter Gap again. And that is how Bird’s-Eye came to end his feud with the MacArons, never poaching off of their land again, even if Cutter Gap was sometimes, a difficult place in which to find food. He kept his word, and made his choice, between a.....rock.....and a hard place. THE END.