Visions without Words

Thomas could not speak either. He swept his right hand from his left shoulder down to his hip. Marius said, "I think Thomas is hurt. It is like he cracked a rib or something."

Fred answered, "Could be. The dragon had him in his jaws. If we was hurt, it would have been when the dragon dropped him into the pond."

George said, "I wish the steingeweser could speak. I would like to know what the painter told Thomas."

There was some chatter as Fred and the artillerymen debated what to do now, and the group gathered around Thomas. Suddenly, Marius declared, "Thomas has spoken to me!"

The artillerymen were skeptical, as they had heard nothing.

Marius then said, "Well, he did not talk. But I just had a vision running through my mind, and I know that Thomas put it there. Don't ask me how. There was no sound, so I do not know what Simon said. But it was almost as if Thomas was letting me see through his eyes. Am I right, Thomas?"

Thomas nodded his head.

Fred turned to Astra and said, "You cannot speak, but you can make your thoughts known?"

Astra shrugged her shoulders.

Fred replied, "Close, but not quite."

Astra nodded, and then pointed to her ears and shook her head.

"You can somehow put a picture in mind, but you cannot use words."

Astra shook her head rapidly.

Fred turned to Marius, and said, "What did you see?"

"Thomas was looking up from the ground. There was a bright flash, and Simon was silhouetted against it. His clothes were smoking, and just starting to catch fire. Simon stood over him for a fraction of time - just long enough to take a breath. And then he turned to Anselm. Anselm was on fire, and struggling to stand against the force of the blast. And then Simon crouched down. I could see the copper cylinder. Anselm froze in place. Then when Thomas looked again, Simon did not have the cylinder. He was looking for it, gave up, and ran toward the pond. And then Thomas turned his head toward the sand to shield himself from the blast."

Fred replied, "And I can tell you what happened from there."

Then Fred closed his eyes. He did not know how, but Astra was trying to plant a picture in his mind. He concentrated, and could see the rim of the basin. For some reason, Astra's attention was on a layer of pinkish-white rock that was about half way up. Then the vision took him further up, to the rim itself.

Fred then announced, "I think Astra is talking to me in the same way Thomas talked to Marius. There is a layer of pink rock that she wants to go to. And I think that she might be suggesting that the best way for her to leave the basin is to scale the peaks."

George replied, "Impossible! Those peaks are impossible to pass."

Fred replied, "Quiet, please. I think she is trying to tell me something else."

1. Fred's belly growled as a vision of a roasted fowl, pickled with cloves, appeared in his mind. Could it be that the pink rock was some sort of food?
2. Fred imagined walking on a trail ascending up the rim. He felt the gravel gently moving under his boots, but could not hear it crunch. Was Astra suggesting a path through the peaks?
3. He saw a vision of Anselm as a steingeweser, alive and moving. Was Astra trying to suggest that Anselm had not died in the fireball? It seemed impossible.

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