by Paris Singer
“Maybe I just don’t like your face, turd.”
I understood then it didn’t matter what I said or did; the Gelorian just wanted an excuse to hit me, and would say anything to make it happen.
“You know what?” I said, noticing two qarids grazing behind him.
“What’s that?”
“Your breath smells like you ate a tonne of yazonir dung.” The Gelorian’s eyes opened almost as wide as his mouth and, before he’d had time to process what I'd just told him, I shoved him back as hard as I could into the qarids, which caused him to trip and fall backward to the ground.
He laid there for a moment, looking up. “You…” The color of his ever-changing skin became a bright red. “You…” The Gelorian got up on one knee and, as he hyperventilated, the size or his chest, arms and legs doubled—tripled. I ran. As many seizable opponents as I’d beaten in Sphere, there’d always been healing sprays to fix dislocated joints, cracked ribs, or torn muscles. Here, any damage the Gelorian caused me would hurt—a lot. And being deep inside some ruins within a massive forest, it would be a level of pain I’d have to experience for a long time before I could get any medical assistance.
“You… turd.”
Looking back, I saw him speeding toward me with a crazy expression in his eyes. I ran past dome after dome, round thick blocks and stones, feeling the vibrations on the ground increasing, the closer he got.
There were three white blocks up ahead—one facing me, and two on either side. I convinced myself that I would jump from one of the side blocks and over the one in front. When I got there, my foot slid off the smooth rock, and I stood, trapped between the three blocks with nowhere left to run. Without slowing down, the Gelorian jumped into a tackle, and crashed into me at full force. The block against which I leaned smashed into pieces and we landed hard on the ground of a sloping dark tunnel beyond.
***
“Get off me,” I huffed, trying to push away the heavy Gelorian.
“Shut up, turd,” he replied, getting to his feet and patting himself down as he returned to his original shape. “What’s this place, then?”
“How would I know?” I winced, as I stood up, holding my ribs.
The circular tunnel was roughly cut out from stone and covered in red hanging moss. A continuous roar echoed from within.
“Looks like a secret tunnel,” I said, taking two steps inside. “I wonder what they were hiding down there?”
“What’s that noise?” asked the Gelorian.
“No idea. Could be a murderous beast guarding the entrance to some loot,” I said.
The Gelorian paused, watching the tunnel ahead for a moment. “No way,” he said, looking unconvinced. “That’s the dumbest thing you’ve said so far.”
I was enjoying watching him debate whether finding the loot I’d suggested existed was worth possibly confronting whatever nightmarish creature he was likely picturing in his mind.
“Well, if you’re too scared to go, I’ll just keep all the loot for myself.”
“Get out of my way,” said the Gelorian, shoving past me. “If anyone’s going to discover what’s down there first, it’s gonna be me.” He walked down the long tunnel, brushing aside the hanging moss. I followed behind, smirking to myself. Despite the bad company, I wanted to know what secrets the tunnel led to.
The further we walked, the louder the roaring became. The tunnel led straight to a bright source of light ahead. We ambled up to a large white and gold archway, partly obscured by hanging green and red vines.
We stepped beyond it into a large circular, white stone cave. Gold and copper-painted carved symbols stood all around. They were like ones I’d seen on the spire in the center of the ruins. Like the archway and tunnel, hanging vines and moss hung from the walls, covering the low ceiling.
There was a short ledge that extended halfway around on both sides, but seemed to have been broken away by a roaring waterfall that fell into a dark chasm below. A flat, round chunk of earth floated in the middle, and extended down beneath it into a peak intertwined with roots.
In its center was a golden spire, on the top of which was a large, opal circle with a smaller copper one overlapping the top part. Around it were glowing white cylindrical structures, similar in size and shape as the cocoon I’d seen in the house.
“It was a waterfall, turd,” scoffed the Gelorian derisively. “‘Great beast’, pff. What an idiot.”
“Shut up, Winkle,” I replied. No sooner had I spoken that he turned at lightning speed and grabbed me by the neck.
“Don’t go thinking we’re friends and you can talk to me anyway you want.” The Gelorian continued squeezing until I couldn’t breathe. I tried to pry his fingers off me, but his grasp was like a vice. “Next time you tell me to shut up, I’ll snap your delicate little neck in two. Got it?” To save my life, I nodded the best I could, and he let go. I collapsed to the ground and took a deep breath. I had never felt so powerless as I did then.
“I will find out what’s in those things,” he said, more to himself than to me. The Gelorian stood on the edge and seemed to be judging the distance to the small floating island. It was a good few meters, and far enough away that a long, uncertain jump would be required to make it across.
The Gelorian took a couple steps back with a look of determination on his face. He ran forward and jumped. His feet landed right on the edge of the island. He looked back at me with a smirk and said, “Bet you didn’t think I’d make it, did ya?”
Just as he finished his boast, the earth crumbled beneath his feet and he fell into the chasm.
CHAPTER TWENTY
“Winkle.” I scrambled to my feet, dived to the ground and peered over the side.
“Don’t call me Winkle,” said the Gelorian, who was dangling from a thick root he’d grabbed. “Help me. Hurry up.”
I watched him for a moment. For all his strength, he was helpless there, suddenly in need of my help.
“What are you staring at me for? Come on—help me up.”
Part of me wanted to walk away, to leave him there. Why should I help him? He probably wouldn’t even thank me for it. He’d likely just shove me aside and complain I took too long to come to his aid. I got to my feet, turned, and walked.
“Hey. Where’re you going? You better get back here. I’m slipping. You hear me? Get back here.”
I ran as fast as I could and jumped over the chasm to the other side. “Hang on,” I said, easing my way down the island, grasping rocks and roots. As much of a jerk as Winkle was, I couldn’t let him fall. No matter what he’d done to me, I didn’t have the right to take his life. Besides, just because he was a jerk didn’t mean I had to be.
I grabbed hold of a thick, sturdy root, and positioned myself low enough for him to reach me.
“Climb up,” I shouted down to the Gelorian.
“I can’t reach. You’ll have to get closer.”
I did as he said and felt his hand grasp my ankle. The Gelorian escalated up my body until he reached the top and pulled himself up to safety.
I climbed back up as far as I could. I grabbed hold of a chunk of earth and pulled myself up but it crumbled into dust under my weight, almost taking me down with it. I dangled from one hand. “Now, give me your hand,” I shouted up, extending my own. I knew he was tall enough to reach me.
The Gelorian peered down at me and smirked. “I thought I told you not to talk to me like that.”
“What? What are you talking about? I helped you, now you help me.”
“You took a little too long climbing down, turd. Why should I help you?”
Just as I had decided to tell the Gelorian what I thought of him, the island shook, and the light from the cocoons died, plunging us into darkness.
“Hey,” said Winkle, “what d’you do?”
“Does it look like I can do anything from here?”
Eerie, ethereal music filled the room. A voice like that of a young girl sang detached notes, which echoed all around.
“What is that? What’s going on?” cried the Gelorian.
“How should I know?”
The high, detached notes turned to syllables, maybe from a language I’d never heard before. From the depths of the chasm, a greenish-white glow began pulsating, becoming brighter as it got higher.
“Whoever’s doing this, quit it,” cried Winkle, his voice cracking into a whine.
I looked below me. Various glowing shapes were rising from the darkness at different speeds. A moment later, I was face-to-face with the first of them. Two large greenish-white eyes gazed at me with an expressionless alabaster face. Its long white hair flowed upward as if it were floating in water. The rest of its body glowed so brightly that it was hard to make out more than it’s two long arms on either side. The entity looked like the simianoids I’d seen on the murals in the house within the ruins.
As the others rose above, the Gelorian screamed. I looked up in time to spot him bound from the floating island to the other side. His screams faded as he ran from the room.
***
The melody continued as the beings rose to the island. I was slipping, too, so I climbed up the root, held on to a protruding rock and reached out to grab the top. I pulled myself up to my waist when the earth crumbled and gave way. My attempt to propel myself forward came too late: I fell down into the chasm.
As I plummeted to my certain death, the room spun around while I fell faster and faster. Then, as the world turned dark, it was illuminated by greenish-white light and I stopped falling. The beings were all holding hands around me, all now singing the same broken, two syllable song. They floated back up to the island, with me still floating inside the circle they’d formed.
When we reached the top of the island, the beings placed me down gently in front of the spire. Still all gazing at me, they broke the circle and hovered around the room. All, but one who remained in front of me. The being was around my height and seemed younger than the rest, with feminine facial features.
It glided toward me, its gaze fixed on me. I felt calm, like I knew they meant me no harm. The being stopped in front of me, reached out a hand, and placed it on my forehead. A sudden shock like I’d never experienced spread from my head to the rest of my body, and I was thrown off my feet, as everything fell into darkness. A split second later, still, broken images flashed in my mind.
I saw the beings crash a massive ship into a lush, forested land. Saw how they built a civilization. Witnessed as they fought great scaly creatures with wings and fire; how they warred against the winged creatures till the earth was scarred and the forests burned. Watched as great ships descended from the fiery skies and took away the scaly monsters. I saw as peace reigned, lands healed and the beings prospered. I saw as the original settlers, who had stayed behind where they had crashed, died, leaving their spirits behind to guard their temple.
A flash of white light swallowed me, and I was back in the room, standing in front of the being. The melody went on, and as they continued to sing, I somehow understood they were words. They were speaking with me in their language. I still don’t know the reason behind it, but warm tears streaked down my cheeks, as a sense of warmth and safety spread out from my chest.
“I… I can’t understand you.”
The spirit in front of me smiled gently. And as it raised its hand toward me again, there was a distant explosion that shook the whole cave.
CHAPTER TWENTY ONE
I heard another explosion. The cave shook more than before, widening a crack across the ceiling, as chunks of earth and rock fell in the chasm and on the island, narrowly missing me.
The spirits continued watching me with serene expressions on their faces. The melody had stopped, along with their song.
“What’s happening?” I breathed. The being in front of me sang a series of syllables and pointed toward the cave’s entrance.
“What will you do? What will happen to you?” I asked, aware there was nothing I could do for them.
The spirits smiled and shone brighter. Dust and rocks continued to fall as the crack expanded. There wasn’t much time—I had to leave. I raised my hand at the being in front of me, ran across the island and jumped the gap, rolling on the ground as I landed on the other side. I scrambled to my feet and dashed along the tunnel. A moment later, there was a tremendous rumble from the cave as it collapsed, and the tunnel filled with flowing dust.
I stepped back out into the ruins and saw military ships fly above the gap in the trees. Loud cannon-fire reverberated around. Something bad was happening. I ran back to the center spire where I’d last seen Mr. Fernly and the others, but no one was there. Not even the Gelorian was in sight.
“Hello? Mr. Fernly? Please answer me,” I cried, but no one seemed to hear me. I supposed they must all be heading for the bus. Another, much louder explosion shook the ground, almost knocking me off my feet.
“The bus.” If they were on their way there, and hadn’t waited for me, they’d leave as soon as they reached the vehicle. I panted as I dashed to the stone stairs and climbed them. My lungs burned as I ran through the thick forest. When finally I made it to the other side, the last of the students was boarding the bus, with Mr. Fernly nervously ushering them inside.
“Wait,” I shouted, feeling like my legs would give way any moment.
Just before getting in the vehicle, the teacher turned, and waved at me to hurry. With great effort, I made my way to the bus as quickly as I could, and collapsed inside, just as the doors closed behind me.
“Go, Mr. Mial. Go,” cried the teacher.
The bus blasted forward at great speed just as an ear-splitting sound filled the air. I got to my knees to the sounds of screaming students and saw a gigantic orange beam of light stream across the land, splitting and churning the earth in its wake. As it crossed Uaine forest, trees turned to fire and black smoke.
The land had become chaotic. Simian cannons and ships blasted toward the unseen threats above as with their enormous beams of light they scorched and devastated the Gullean continent. Ora city burned. Its tall skyscrapers split and demolished, they turned to dusty rubble amid a blaze of fire.
We made it to the coast and into the long tunnel across the sea. A deep, deafening bellow came from outside, as one of the biggest sea creatures I’d ever seen leaped up from the water just as the bus was passing under it. It rose high into the air and slammed its side onto the tunnel just behind us. Everything shook violently.
“Keep it steady, Mr. Mial,” cried the teacher, hugging the seat. The bus blasted along as behind it one by one the tunnel segments detached and fell into the sea with a loud splash. His eyes wide open and his teeth clenched, Mial swerved up one side of the tunnel, then the other. When we reached the last segment, it tilted upward, sending the bus rocketing out and up into the air.
“Do something, Mr. Mial—do something, or we’re all going to die,” exclaimed Mr. Fernly, shaking the caretaker while the bus hurtled back down to the ground. Looking panicked, Mial closed his eyes and pulled back on the steering wheel, causing the front of the vehicle to rise. It landed hard on the sand and continued along with billows of dark smoke trailing behind.
***
“You’re going to kill us, Mial. You’re going to kill us,” the teacher screeched, shaking the caretaker.
“Shut it, Fernly,” replied Mial, swatting him away as he tried to maneuver the damaged vehicle by craning his head outside to see through the fire and smoke that came from the burning engine. The bus scraped across the bridge that led to the academy, sending yellow sparks shooting everywhere, and skidded to a halt in front of it. No sooner had it stopped than everyone jumped out the bus in a panic.
Hurry, came the voice of Ms. Photuris in my mind. Get inside, quickly. She was standing beside the double doors to the academy, waving us toward her. When we were all inside, she said, Get to the third sub-level, pointing toward the elevators as she helped Mial and Mr. Fernly shut the doors.
CHAPTER TWENTY TWO
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br /> The elevator doors opened to a large subterranean room. It’s only source of light was a golden four-dimensional screen in its center, which showed a map of Simia’s three continents: east, west and north. All the teachers had gathered around it, and students sat around the three levels of concentric circles that served as seats, whispering to each other.
The situation is far more serious than was first thought, said Ms. Photuris behind me, as she walked into the middle of the room. No sooner did she speak than a wave of calm washed over me. The Vespulan race could soothe any temperament at will. The yellow-green light they emitted from inside their bodies had the ability to soothe and focus minds. Though, there were times when feelings ran so high, that not even Ms. Photuris could fully suppress them.
“The Morex have implemented new tactics of late that the Council is simply not prepared for,” said a Xenarthran teacher. Thick plates of beige armor covered his body, leaving only his long, hairy face and black hands and feet exposed.
“There must be something the Council can do to stop these atrocities occurring,” said another teacher from somewhere behind the screen.
Ms. Phredona, began Ms. Photuris, Mr. Levitas—all of you: I have spoken with the Council, and they have assured me the situation is under control.
“That’s what they said the last time those Morex attacked.”
“If this were true, then Gullea wouldn’t be on the verge of destruction, would it?”
Dear teachers, said, Ms. Photuris, have some faith. Rest assured the Council is working tirelessly to repel the enemy as quickly as possible. Do not forget they have at their disposal some of the finest strategic minds in the galaxy. They will contact us once the threat is over.
For the next few hours we all remained underground. Tempers flared and students complained, while I sat with my back against the wall, as far away from them all as possible. I had looked around for Sally, but he was gone. I knew it was all my fault. The Morex must have used variations of the many strategies I’d given them over my time on their research ship. The weight of the guilt I felt was enough to cement me to the spot where I sat.