But there has been only a few that have gained our trust. You are now one of them. Thank you.” Rainbow sent warm feelings to Jimmys mind. The kid began to relax and told Rainbow that they should be moving away from the house and the area. For it was becoming dark and the fire gangs would soon be moving about the houses and old buildings. The kid gathered all the supplies and a few of the old clothes for Rainbow to sleep on and the two of them began to leave the old house.
Jimmy could not see how but Rainbow seemed to float above the ground. She was not moving across the ground like a worm or a snake but rather more like a low cloud. Her body was a mere two inches above the ground and that is how she was moving. Across the ground without touching it. Jimmy watched her for about a thousand yards then had to ask her. “Rainbow, may I ask you a question?” He wanted to ask her how she moved but wanted to be polite about it. “Yes Jimmy, you may ask me anything.” “I walk across the ground on two legs. And other animals on Earth either walk on two legs or four. Yet, when you move across the ground, you do not touch the ground. How is it that you seem to float across the ground without touching it?” The kid asked her as politely as he could. He really was waiting for an answer like a super power or something. But Rainbow gave as simple an answer as she could so Jimmy could understand her.
“It is not a special power or anything. And it is not because I am not from Earth. Our species has the gift of mind. Which means that we can control our minds and our bodies over all other objects and materials. You see, we do not see objects as being there. We see things in another way. What we see in our mind is like how we communicate to you. Our minds touch and like our minds, we touch everything else. We do not see the ground as an obstacle. We see it as something that can be moved. So, we move our bodies over it and other obstacles. I will teach you someday. You humans have the same gift. You just forgot how to use it over the eons.”
The kids mind was now totally muddled by Rainbows explanation, but he was beginning to see the logic of what Rainbow had to say. And he was totally amazed at how easy Rainbow could explain it to him without going into fantastic detail. He was excited about learning how to do what Rainbow could do. She did say that she will teach him someday. He looked forward to that day. And little did the kid or Rainbow know, that day would soon be upon them both.
The two traveled for a few miles until the light had faded and nightfall was upon them. The kid was beginning to feel nervous as the darkness enveloped them both. Rainbow hovered alongside Jimmy as they moved toward another abandoned home. A small wood frame house that looked like it had already been ravaged by scavengers which made Jimmy feel better about spending the night in it. He looked down at Rainbow and felt her approval in his mind.
“This looks like a safe place to stay for the night Rainbow. Let’s get inside and find a hidden area of the house so we can get some sleep.” Jimmy said in a calm voice. Rainbow sent her feelings to the kid’s mind. “Yes, this looks good. We will be safe here.” Rainbow followed the kid to the front door of the house. Jimmy managed to pry open the locked door with the pipe that he had carried with him from the last house they visited. Opening the door and looking inside, Jimmy could see only an empty house. There was nothing of value in sight. The kid had a feeling that the scavengers went through the house with a fine toothed comb. There was nothing left. Not until the two found a small room without windows did Jimmy begin to hear the gangs.
When the fire gangs entered an area, they instantly began to ravage the houses and the old shops in the neighborhoods that they entered. While the leaders of the gangs would remain standing in the middle of the street, the gangs would enter the homes and shops and scavenge the structures. Most of the time they would not find anyone inside the old buildings, but when they did find people hiding, they would torture them, take what belongings they had then most of the time they would kill the people. This made the fire gangs very dangerous. And the kid knew of them.
Jimmy heard the first fire gang approaching from somewhere in the distance. He knelt down next to Rainbow who was laying on the old soft material that the kid had for her and reassured her that they will be okay. He held her close and softly rubbed her soft skin. He could hear her making her low humming sound. Rainbow was falling asleep. And soon, Jimmy would fall into a cautious sleep. He would be awakened by the slightest sound. The night was long and the kid had a fitfull sleep. Jimmy tossed and turned during the night. Rainbow would awaken and use her humming voice to lull him to sleep again. Her humming was soft and low with a warming soothing sound that relaxed the kids mind. It was as if her voice could put him into a trancelike state. Jimmy would awaken refreshed in the morning.
During the night, the fire gang began burning the houses that were scavenged by the members of the fire gang. One by one the fires lit the night sky. The fire gang leader noticed that the house that hid Rainbow and the kid had been skipped by the torches. He was about to get his members to set fire to it but at the last minute he changed his mind and let it go. He saw that the sun was about to rise and he let his gang fire one more home then all of the fire gang moved on.
Jimmy awakened early with the sunlight shining in his eyes. The warmth of the sun felt good on his face. He decided not to wake Rainbow. He thought that she looked so peaceful sleeping on her warm cloth. Jimmy could smell smoke in the air and he immediately knew that the fire gangs must have been close by during the night. He was surprised that Rainbow did not wake him when the gangs were close. Nevertheless, he was glad that she did not wake him because he had been so tired from the journey the day before.
Jimmy sat near an open window until Rainbow woke and spoke to his mind. “Good morning friend. I am happy to see you are awake. The fire gangs were near during the night but they did not harm us. This is good.” Rainbow spoke to the kids mind and it felt good. Somehow when she spoke through his mind he felt relaxed like in a dream.
“I’m really glad that we did not get bothered by the fire gang. It frightens me that we have been so close to them over time. We are lucky in that respect. If they ever found you, I'm afraid of what they would do to you. You are my friend and I want to protect you Rainbow.” Jimmy knew he had a close friend in Rainbow. They both had become fond of the other.
After the two had a small meal of some old pizza and water, they packed up what they had and started to leave the house. Cautiously looking out onto the street, Jimmy told Rainbow that he thinks it’s now safe to move on. Suddenly he saw some movement in the road ahead. First he saw an arm rise in the air, then a body slowly followed it to a sitting position in the middle of the road. This startled the kid and his fear found its way into Rainbows mind.
“Rainbow, stop! Stay still. There is someone ahead in the road. I think it is a fire gang member! I will go to him and see if he is hurt. Stay here.” Jimmy made sure that Rainbow felt his stern warning in her mind. The last thing that the kid wanted was to get his dear friend hurt. But soon the kid would find that Rainbow had more surprises.
Slowly moving toward the body ahead, Jimmy took out his metal pipe. He knew that if he needed it, he could use it as a weapon just in case. As he got closer to the person, he could see that he was injured. He could see blood on the back of the person and could see a broken piece of wood that the person must have used as a weapon. This person was in no condition to resist if he wanted to fight.
Jimmy moved in front of the person and looked into his face. What he saw was pain and sorrow. This fire gang member was no fire gang member at all. Jimmy knew him. He was once a friend from years gone by who left his group to be on his own. The kid knelt down beside him and took his hand. The friend had his eyes closed and could not see that it was Jimmy who was in front of him. Jimmy saw that his face was red from the fires. He had to have been burned from the heat.
“Tommy. It’s me, Jimmy. It is so good to see you again, it’s been a long time. I am glad that I found you. We will help you get better. Can you stand?” Jimmy took his arm and helped him stand. Then the kid called to Rainbow that it was safe to come to him. He explained to Rainbow that he knew the person and that it was not a fire gang member. Rainbow sent regards to the kid.
“Jimmy, I can’t believe that I found you. It has been a long time. When I left our group, the fire gangs found me and tortured me and left me for dead. Then after my wounds healed, I made it this far. Last night I found a place to sleep but the fire gang that came here last night found me and tortured me again. I thought I was going to die. But thankfully they only sliced my back open. It is an old wound and will heal. I lay here pretending I was dead and they left me. Then I heard you and felt that you were alone. I did not know it was you. Thank you for being here.” Jimmy took his friend back to the house that he and Rainbow slept in and fed him and nursed his wounds. Rainbow began to explore the mind of Tommy to help him heal. The kid explained to Tommy how Rainbow had a gift that will help him heal. He told him where Rainbow came from and how long she and her species have been on Earth. Tommy felt Rainbow in his mind and was pleased.
“Tommy, your mind is full of mistrust and fear. You have had a hard time. I will try to help you.” Rainbow comforted Tommy with her mind to mind massages. After a few minutes Tommy drifted off to sleep. Rainbow told Jimmy that he will be alright but there is a fear in his mind that Rainbow can’t get into. Something is stopping Rainbow from reading his mind. The kid looked into Rainbows eyes and suddenly felt fear. Rainbow had sent a message to the kid telling him that the fire gang was on their way back to the house. She finally felt it from the mind of Tommy. She relaxed him enough to see it. She told the kid, “Tommy is part of the fire gang. He kept his lie until I put him into his deep sleep. We are alright for a while, he will sleep long. We need to be ready now.” Jimmy felt fear for the first time from Rainbow.
Jimmy placed everything they had in a corner of the room they slept in the night before. Then looked at Rainbow. “Rainbow. What are you doing?” said Jimmy as he watched Rainbow close her eyes and float off the floor. Listening carefully, the kid could heard noises coming from the opposite direction from where they found Tommy. It had the sounds of metal pipes hitting wood and sounds of people talking loudly. Then he heard another sound which sounded more distant than the first. It was almost a low growl. Rainbow told the kids mind, “It is the Ancients. They are coming. I called them when you were in your deep sleep the night before. I could hear the fire gangs plotting when they placed your friend in the street. I thought we could use the help.”
Rainbow told the kid that the Ancients were two of her species that were the first ones that arrived here from the probe that returned to Earth. They had more power than she had. But they could only use the power to rescue her and the ones that she chose. She told the kid that she could save him but not his friend. She said that his mind is already filled with mistrust and hate. The kid tried to understand but he knew that Rainbow was true to her word. He told her, “Thank you Rainbow. I know that you are good and have a pure heart. I could not have been more thankful to find you. But I think you are the one that found me.
Jimmy looked down the road and saw the fire gang approaching. They had pipes and boards. He could see some of them waving long knives that were fashioned from steel taken off of road vehicles. Then he saw who he thought was the leader of the fire gang. Jimmy saw much anger in his face and hatred. He too had a long knife of some material. All of a sudden the entire fire gang stopped in their tracks. Not a sound was heard from any of them. All that the kid could hear was a steadily increasing hum. It was not painful to his ears but he could tell that it had to be painful to those that the sound was directed at. All of the fire gang members dropped what they had in their hands and placed them over their ears. As the humming grew louder, most of the fire gang began to scream.
Then Jimmy and Rainbow watched as all of the fire gang began to rise into the air. Jimmy could see in the distance two of Rainbows species, the Ancients, hover off the ground. The two looked larger than Rainbow. And they looked very powerful. Rainbow spoke to the kid. “The Ancients told me that we will not have to worry about fire gangs any longer. They said that they will retrain them. You don’t want to know.”
Jimmy watched intently as all of the fire gang began to move off into the distant. The Ancients right behind them still humming loudly. After a few seconds, the fire gang members simply dropped their arms and continued to move off and out of sight. The Ancients following them. Jimmy looked at Rainbow after the Ancients and the fire gang were out of sight then spoke to her. “Where will the Ancients take them Rainbow?”
“They will be taken to the resettlement area. It is where humans are retrained who have violent minds. The Ancients are the only ones who know where the resettlement area is. Even I do not know. But I do know the the Ancients have been retraining humans for many years, even after your wars. We will make Earth safe again. It will take time.” The kid smiled at Rainbow. “What about Tommy? They didn’t know that he was here did they?” “Yes, they knew he was here, I told them. The Ancients retrained his mind while you were watching he fire gang leave. He was easy as he has not had a bad mind. When he awakens, he will be new again. You will have your friend back.” Rainbow smiled at the kid. Jimmy hugged his alien friend and kissed her on her soft skin. “Thank you Rainbow, thank you.”