The God Hunters

by Gordon D Lanyon

  “Your pardon Nicholas. I sense strong emotions, but feel I must remind you we have pressing matters to discuss and Walker is not responding to my calls. Perhaps you could speak with her? There are developments that need to be shared.”

  I nodded dumbly and left in search of her. The last time I'd seen her had been two days ago. She’d been avoiding me and SHIP appeared willing to accommodate her desire to be left alone. I still hadn't grasped the finer points of this vessel which was itself a product of pinched space, meaning it could be as big or as small as needed. SHIP also seemed to have some sentient bits that made it quite perceptive. Touch a sensor and it read your mind, opening the door to any room imagined, any size needed. When the door opened it could reveal a lake or even something more exotic like a jungle. Walker liked jungles. They gave her all the space she needed to get lost. I still sensed her, the link we'd forged was intact and possibly permanent now. I wasn't certain about the last part and Kat wouldn't comment on anything that involved Walker.

  Kat disliked Walker, thinking she couldn't be trusted to deal effectively with our enemies. We all knew what that meant. Kat didn’t believe Walker could do what was needed. For her part, Walker thought Kat an unthinking killing machine that had lost all empathy for the living. When I'd first noticed Walker missing I'd tried to track her but she'd just maintained her distance from me. If I'd pressed I might have caught her but since she obviously didn't want that I decided to respect her wishes and leave her alone. Given a little time I’d hoped she'd return on her own. Well, time was up and she hadn't. Stubborn women. I was surrounded by them! Now I needed to find her.

  I sighed. Now I had to force the issue. With a little effort I could talk to her but it took two people to have a conversation. Another problem I had was that this mind link freaked me out. I had Kat in my head and now Walker. By my count that was at least two too many. I located her in my mind and sent out a call.

  “Walker. We need to meet.”

  I didn't expect a reply. Walker wasn’t the type to forgive and forget quickly. What really bothered me was that she had a point. Her sister had been mind-raped and I'd done the same to her friend. Never mind the fact I'd been fighting for my life. That was sticking in her mind. Sticking hard. It was the whole reason she'd gotten involved in this miserable fuck-up in the first place. To stop it from happening to others. Now she was worried she couldn't trust me.

  “Please remember how closely linked we are now Nicholas,” quipped Kat interrupting my thoughts. “All this useless self-loathing is making me ill.”

  ''Stay out of this Kat. You're the reason Walker’s so angry in the first place."

  “Foolish. Sometimes I worry you have no mind at all. Do you really believe she has no understanding of what we think? We‘re linked. Thoughts can be shielded, but not for long. Anything I want to know about her or you, I need only look to discover. We‘ve opened doors that can never be closed. There can be no secrets between us. She knows what we know. I‘ve already felt her in the back of my mind, looking. She seeks her sister’s killer thinking it may be me. With perseverance, she may find what she seeks."

  "Jesus." Once again Walker was a step ahead of me. Maybe this was why she was so pissed off. She was a part of us now. A part of everything we'd ever done. "Can our link be broken? She's probably been flooded with memories she'd find abhorrent. Maybe it's the reason she's putting so much distance between us. She's trying to get away from all this?"

  "As you already know, our link is something new, something I didn't believe possible." Kat gave an evil laugh. "I can think of only one sure way to break it but I don’t think she‘d approve. I, however, am up for it."

  An image of a successful kill flooded my consciousness. "Shit! Stop that! Walker’s a friend!"

  "Your friend!" snarled Kat. "I‘ve no feelings for her. If we didn't need her I'd be more than willing to break the link, permanently."

  I shook my head. Kat could say she had no feelings one way or another but it wasn't true. The two hated each other. Maybe it was the natural aversion between Hunters that Meeta had mentioned. Whatever it was, if we were going to survive, they needed to learn to get along.

  Kat must have caught that thought. "I can assure you it will not be me who is the problem. I will do what I must to survive."

  A small nagging part of me heard what she said but it felt false, like she was trying to convince herself. I decided not to push it. Kat at least sounded like she’d try to get along.

  I took a breath and moved to the wall. SHIP had accepted me and a sensor board slid out. I placed my hand on it and thought of Walker. A moment later a door appeared. Far in the back of my head I caught the suggestion of laughter. Had SHIP just chuckled in my mind? How much of me was open to it through the sensor, I wondered, and just how smart was it?

  “Very smart," answered Kat instantly. "SHIP's AI is second to none. Well, except Constructs." I felt her shudder.

  "From your reaction they sound bad ass."

  "Once invoked a Construct can’t be stopped. They‘re universally feared."

  "Uhmm, I thought that was your territory Kat. Aren't you the big scary monster from the past?"

  "I’m that. But I have a soul. Constructs are living machines with one purpose given at birth. Once released, the Construct does not rest or stop until that purpose is fulfilled. From activation to termination, no one controls it. Its death only comes with the fulfillment of its purpose."

  "Jesus! If a Construct is so dangerous, why wasn't one sent after Kailex?"

  "His death would be certain and therefore not entertaining. The GateKeeper‘s paid much for the privilege of hunting a once powerful member of the Twelve. To hunt such a powerful man is to be assured of great prestige as well as an audience. The bloodier the death of one of them, the better. From the Council's perspective, this brings stability to their ranks and minimizes the chance of further rebellion. All will see, feel and hear his death. It is to be a lesson to all."

  I shook my head. “I've said it before but Jesus, Kat. Your world is fucked up." Suddenly another thought hit me. ''What do you mean ‘all will see, feel and hear’? How‘s that possible? I don’t see any cameras anywhere."

  Kat laughed. "Your eyesight would have to be very good to see these cameras. They’re everywhere around us, on your skin, in your hair, inside your body. We’re covered in them. Nothing is missed. Not a twitch, not a sound, not an action, however slight. All data goes back to the Keeper who compiles and streams it out to clients who watch as one of us while our drama plays out around them. They experience our pain, our triumphs. They pay for the privilege of experiencing death without the danger of actual death. This passes for entertainment for the large majority of our citizens."

  I shook my head, “That definitely qualifies as fucked up.”

  Stepping up to a door sensor I activated it. A distant part of my brain registered a vague question and answered it with an image of Walker. I sensed amusement before a door opened in front of me. SHIP seemed to have its own views on things that happened within it. This time Kat said nothing, perhaps reasoning nothing more needed saying.

  At first I'd had no idea how wondrous SHIP was. I had a better idea now. Time and distance were meaningless here. I could spend hours at an activity to find mere minutes had passed in real time. I could open a door when I was finished only to find myself in the exact same spot I’d left an hour earlier. I learned white rooms were the default for passengers having no onboard status. Since I became a recognized member of the vessel, SHIP actively ‘listened’ now, changing itself to comply with my desires.

  Walker preferred jungles, so I wasn't surprised when a blast of hot humid air greeted me as the door slid back. From the open door the land fell away in a waterfall that fell over a thousand feet to some rocks below. A small pool was filled from the falls while a sluggish river swirled and eddied its way through a deep jungle valley filled with trees and rugged terrain. The only way into this world was to step through into space an
d endure the thousand foot fall onto the rocks below.

  This was another way Walker enforced her desire to be left alone. At first it had worked, but then Kat had dryly informed me that none of what I was seeing was real and that SHIP would prevent my death in any case. All that was needed was for me to take the step. While this sounded logical the part of my brain regulating survival questioned the concept vigorously. Why couldn’t I simply imagine a series of steps down and order SHIP to provide them? Not possible. This was Walker's place and conformed to her rules which I had no say in. If I wanted to follow her, I’d have to take the step. Steeling myself I stepped out and felt the familiar rush of air and the slow giddy tumble that told me in no uncertain terms I was falling to my death. After 4.3 seconds, a number Kat informed me was in sync with an actual fall of this distance, I spun full length to land gently on my feet. It was a rush and I supposed in time I could get to enjoy it.

  Huge green trees with massive twinning branches towered above me while the sound of swiftly moving water filled the air. I stood on the rocky shore, up from the waterline. Above my head the leafy base of a tree vaguely resembling a palm waved hello in the slight wind. Weird orange fruit hung in abundant clumps from the top of the tree and there were many of these trees spread out through the valley. Numerous wide branches spun out from each tree’s base and all the way up the trunk. The branches were wide enough to walk on. Since Walker's world was thick with these, they were clearly meant to be used as leafy sidewalks above the dense undergrowth.

  Another of Walker’s obstacles was a creature best described as a combination crocodile/centipede, with size of course, vastly increased. These creatures moved quickly and were aggressive in the extreme. They ate anything they caught in a spectacularly gory fashion. Slower moving creatures resembling armadillos were everywhere and were being eviscerated by crocopedes in the most sudden and horrifying fashion. Death was usually instantaneous but sometimes they emitted piteous screeches that were quite unsettling.

  I'd learned quickly to take to the trees as crocopedes considered anything moving within reach a menu item. Being chased by one was vastly unnerving. My first run in sent me mindlessly racing into the bush where I'd actually had to leap across the backs of several smaller crocopede siblings before realizing tree travel along the branches was a much safer route. While I’d been told they couldn't hurt me, I thought it wiser not to test what felt like just a theory. Through it all Kat did nothing to correct my thinking and gave me the strong impression she felt it all very amusing. Once, while being closely chased, she informed me it was good battle practice. At the time I didn’t agree. The backs of the creatures felt quite real, as did the branches of the trees when I finally clambered up them. Since everything felt real, I speculated a serious encounter with one of these animals might also feel real for longer than I'd be comfortable with. So best to avoid the entire experience.

  ''Walker. Stop this silliness. We have to talk." I’d expected a reaction and got one almost immediately. I felt her move. Shit! I’d hoped we could end this cat and mouse play. Apparently, she still wasn’t ready to talk.

  ''Can she hear us?" I asked Kat.

  ''She hears. We are bound."

  If she heard, she was running on purpose. I increased my pace through the trees, pissed she wasn't answering but also enjoying the physical exertion. My body was stronger and faster now. I moved through the trees disturbing little as I went. This was the game Kat made me practice. She liked to tell me quickness was the key since fights were usually over in the first minute or two. The best fight she said, was the one where you hit your enemy and he never got to hit you back. She was fond of teaching and would have made me travel along the ground if it were her choice. Using the trees seemed too much to her like we were avoiding the crocopedes, which of course, we were.

  ''She waits just ahead," said Kat suddenly.

  It was true. Walker was just ahead now. I slowed my pace to a walk. There was no sense aggravating her by exploding into her camp and demanding her attention. Besides, she knew I was here. I dropped from the trees to the path below. I’d left the crocs behind some time ago when I’d left the riverside. Where we were now was a quiet place I guessed she'd created for herself so she could be alone. Oddly I heard voices ahead. Carefully I made my way to the top of the ridge and peered down into a small green bowl of land. Walker was there sitting on the ground. In a small semi-circle, three others sat in lotus fashion beside her. She was smiling and in conversation with them. As I approached they rose to greet me. Three members of Red One turned to greet me with smiles on their faces. No Lisa, I saw.

  What is this? I wondered.

  ''Be calm," cautioned Kat. ''These are Shadows created by SHIP for Walker to interact with. They have no power to harm."

  I nodded wearily. It made sense. Walker was trying to come to terms with the death of her friends. Now I understood why Lisa was missing. The first kill was probably the hardest to get over.

  ''Shadows?"

  ''Shadows pulled from her mind that speak, act and think as she knew them to speak, act and think. What you see is SHIP's power manifest. They are as real as dead things can be."

  ''They look real." I watched as they waved at me, faces animated and smiling. They seemed as alive as anyone I’d ever known.

  ''Anything you can imagine can exist within SHIP. Her power to create is virtually limitless. But do not fear what you see, for nothing SHIP creates can actually harm. Unless its creator specifically wills it.''

  ''Walker?"

  ''Yes. All this is hers. While we‘re here we live by her rules."

  ''So you don’t really know how dangerous the crocs are then?"

  Kat laughed. ''No, but I don’t think killing you is part of her plan. She‘s angry, not vengeful. And SHIP would intervene."

  I took a steadying breath. "And that step into the abyss with the thousand foot fall? That was SHIP intervening to ensure I wouldn't be hurt?"

  Kat thought for a moment. "No, that was Walker. The door was the only way in. Like you, she’d have to take the same step. I knew she’d have some way down and that was the only way I could think of."

  I choked. ''What if one of her ‘rules’ was that thousand foot drops count? Wouldn’t that have been an unpleasant surprise?”

  ''You might not have taken the step, and we need her. She’ll be a distraction for Fusto when next we attack. Besides, SHIP won’t allow us to be badly damaged."

  I gritted my teeth and held back some choice words. Kat's faith in SHIP was greater than mine when it came to death dealing falls. I didn't understand the technical aspects but I’d gotten the strong impression SHIP liked Walker. Kat and I, it seemed to tolerate. I wasn’t so confident it would save me in the event I needed saving.

  Steeling myself for a barrage of harsh words, I stepped into the clearing. Walker sat with her back to the cliff, facing the river. Sweet green grass formed a crescent shaped area where everyone was.

  “Hello Nick.” Her voice held a tired warmth as if she were resigned to some decision she wasn't completely OK with. She switched to her inside voice.

  “Hello Kat. I only want to speak with Nick but we all know there’s no privacy for any of us now,” she added. “Nick’s here because he’s tired of waiting for me to make a decision and you both need my help. You’re here because you plan to use me as a distraction. Split Fusto away from your target so you can deal with Kailex one on one. Since you don’t really consider me a match for Fusto your plan is to sacrifice me for the win. Isn’t that about it?”

  Before I could say anything Kat replied, “I could lie and say your value to me transcends the outcome, but you would sense the lie even as I spoke it. So, truth then. Yes. To me you’re a foot soldier, one I can sacrifice if necessary. I doubt you’ll survive our next confrontation no matter what I choose. You lack the strength to do what’s needed, even though you know it‘ll save lives in the end.”

  Walker laughed but her eyes remained cold. “Still you tr
y to play me? My death will save lives? That's as good a rational for my sacrifice as any. What's the death of one balanced against the lives of so many others? An argument that might convince even Nick and you’d like him to be convinced wouldn’t you? My death is inevitable? You state it so coldly. What of empathy and compassion? How much of you has your Beast eaten over the years?”

  Whoa, this was quickly becoming too heated. I wasn’t surprised at the personal turn it had taken. These two didn’t like each other. I decided to calm things down. “You’re wrong Walker. When this is over we’re all walking away from it. No one is being sacrificed.” I tried to gentle my voice and speak more directly to her. “You know we have to finish this. Your friend Neville has hunted these guys for years and gotten nowhere. That’s not going to change with Kailex, so it's up to us. It’s time to put personal issues aside.”

  Walker frowned then placed a soft hand against Jeremy's cheek. He smiled, covering her hand with his larger one. She did the same for Robert before embracing Dickerson. “I loved you guys,” she whispered to them. They nodded, then turned as one toward the forest, already beginning to fade from sight. Within seconds they'd disappeared, somehow taken back into SHIP.

  “I thought it might help if you met them,” murmured Walker. “Talked with them as they were before all this started. They were good people who decided to stand up to something evil.” She turned to me and I saw tears spilling down her cheeks. “They could have run but chose to try and do something to stop it. And we killed them. I killed them.”

  I pulled her close. “We all understand their sacrifice. They didn't deserve what happened to them. But somewhere it went wrong and they had to be stopped. You saw what they’d become. There was nothing else we could have done. Even Kat would agree it was unfair.”

  “Kat?” She spat, spinning away from me. “Kat’s a psychopath! If we lined up a dozen innocent people and put Kailex behind them, she'd kill them all just to get to him. Why can’t you understand? She‘s not capable of feeling human emotions anymore and now she's part of you. Corrupting you. Part of me. Corrupting me! Doesn't that scare you? Because it should! Her world consists of nothing but enemies she has to kill. All her compassion‘s been leeched out of her by years of this bullshit! There's nothing human left. Nothing we can trust!”