by C. S. Harte
Alyana furrowed her brow. "No..."
"Listen." He tilted his head. "Did you hear something?"
“Kovat? Nume? Can you hear me?” She called into her suit comm.
Jonas held his palm to the ground. He felt the vibrations through his glove.
“What is it?”
“I don’t know.” He noticed movement in his periphery. “There! Something is on the other side of those trees.” Jonas stood and armed his rifle.
The ground trembled again.
“I feel it now.” Alyana moved closer to Jonas.
“Something big is coming our way.” He narrowed his eyes.
“I don't think Nume and Kovat are in this direction. Let’s turn around.”
Jonas and Alyana began backpedaling.
Suddenly, the entire line of trees fell forward exposing a massive bear-like creature. It stood on its hind legs and released a deafening roar at Jonas. His HUD measured it at 5.23 meters tall. Fungal spores, the same type caked over Jonas’ suit, covered every centimeter of the monster’s body. Its eyes blazed with a glowing red. Thick black ooze dripped down its face from its nostrils and mouth.
“RUN!” Jonas yelled at Alyana. He quickly ordered Centuria-4 to stay behind to provoke the monster bear, authorizing the droid to use the entirety of its arsenal.
“What is that supposed to be?” Alyana screamed into her comm. “And why does it look like it came straight from another dimension?”
“Ask questions later. Keep running!”
Every gun and missile launcher on Centuria-4 opened fire simultaneously on the massive creature which was now running on all fours.
An ear-piercing roar split the air as the first volley of projectiles landed on the beast. The explosion sent shock waves throughout the capital. The monster slammed into the ground, shaking the city for a kilometer in every direction and sent plumes of spores into the air.
Jonas and Alyana lost their balance from the violent tremors and fell on top of each other with Jonas landing on top.
“Not the time for this, Jonas!” She smirked as she pushed him off her body. “Did you see the black ooze on that creature’s face? Do you think it’s from inhaling all the spores?”
Jonas picked himself up. “Why do you insist on asking questions I can’t answer?”
“Sorry, I guess you’re learning one of my flaws — I talk a lot when I’m nervous. It’s even worse when I’m running for my life.”
Jonas groaned.
“Also, why do you talk less when there’s more danger?”
He ignored her questions as he switched to a feed of Centuria-4. Dust, smoke, and spores shrouded his vision. The droid’s AI could not confirm a kill. He ordered it to stay weapons hot and fire at any movement. “Keep running!”
“Where to?”
“Back toward the center of the city. We’ll regroup there.”
“Is that demon spawn dead?”
Another ear-piercing roar came from behind, sending chills up their spines.
Jonas jumped back as he watched a massive paw swipe at Centuria-4. The live feed on his HUD changed to static. “We’re not safe. We need to get to higher ground. It’ll give us more visibility around the city.”
“We’re not safe until we're ten star systems away from this place!”
The two entered the remnants of an apartment complex, five stories tall.
Jonas stood on the rooftop overlooking the park where the beast still roamed.
Alyana leaned against the rooftop door.
Centuria-3 stood next to her like a loyal guard dog.
Jonas zoomed in on the park with his visor camera. He saw pieces of Centuria-4 scattered across the spore-covered field.
Hobbling around the park was the monster bear. “It’s still alive.”
“You mean Deathy? Yes, I named it. Seems appropriate.” Alyana cackled. “Bears have always been cute to me, and if you take away the demon eyes, the black gunk around its mouth, the mold layer on its fur, and the fact it's the size of a small ship, then it’s actually sort of cute.”
Jonas shook his head. He zoomed in on the bear. Patches of black ooze covered its body. “I think Deathy is hurt.”
“I'm OK with that.” She shrugged. “I can see why people abandoned this planet. No one wants to be mauled by a building-sized bear while you’re strolling in the park.”
“That monster and the insect chimera is still hovering above us…” A jolt of pain hit Jonas. He administered another combat stim.
Alyana looked up and mumbled something to herself.
Jonas waited for the pain to subside before continuing his thought. “All these creatures and possibly even the fungus on this planet evolved after the colonists disappeared.”
“Why do you say that?”
“Someone is doing genetic experiments here. Genetic experiments with Guardian Essence.”
“Ahhhh…” Alyana’s eyes lit up. “That would explain why everything is so freakishly big. But who? And why?”
“I’m more concerned about where. As in where is Nume and Kovat?”
“You think they ran into the person or group that’s responsible for all of this?”
“It’s just a hunch.”
“Well, it’s better than my theory.”
“What’s your theory?”
“Oh, I don’t have one. So yours is automatically better by default.”
Jonas tilted his chin up and rolled his eyes. “Do me a favor. Go to the other side of the roof and help me find clues as to where Nume and Kovat could be. Or find Centuria-1 and Centuria-2. Footprints, signs of a struggle, anything.” A collapsed building about 200 meters at their 3 o’clock position caught Jonas’ attention. He zoomed in on the wreckage. “Wait, a second…”
“What? What did you find?”
Jonas noticed a dark blue streak in the spore-covered street close to their location. “Correct me if I’m wrong, but Katoks have blue blood right?”
“You found Kovat? Wait… Why are you asking me about Katok blood?”
“I’m sending you my feed.”
Alyana gasped. “We have to get there now!” She quickly turned toward the door.
Jonas grabbed her arm.
“We have to go now! They could be hurt!” She tried to release herself.
“Look.” He pointed to the streets below them.
Deathy stood on his hindquarters 50 meters to their right. Its front leg appeared mangled as it hobbled on three of its limbs through the streets.
“He’s running into buildings. You think Centuria-4 blinded him?”
“Looks like it.” He nodded.
“That means we can sneak around him.”
Jonas eyes brightened. “It’s been a while since I've taken a course on extinct Earth animals, but if Deathy is anything like Earth bears, they most likely have a very strong sense of smell.”
Alyana scraped a pile of spores into her hands. “What if we covered our Obscuras with this?”
Jonas furrowed his brow before answering. “That’s not a bad idea.”
After covering their suits and Centuria-3 with fungal spores, the team went downstairs to the lobby of the building. The glass doors of the apartment were still intact allowing them to safely peer at the other side where Deathy blindly wandered.
“Now or never,” Jonas patted Alyana’s back.
“I’m starting to think never. There are some nice rooms in this building. I'm thinking of moving in if it means we never have to go outside again.”
“I’ll go first.” Jonas slowly opened the entrance. Obscura suits were designed to be whisper-quiet, muffling the footsteps of its wearer.
Deathy's wide body occupied most the narrow street.
Jonas avoided the massive limbs of the bear as it shuffled along the road. He made it down the street without the beast being aware of his presence. “I’m safe about five buildings down. Follow my exact footsteps.”
Alyana exited the building following Jonas’ lead but stop
ped when she reached the monster.
“Keep moving Alyana! Wait for him to stop moving and run under him.”
“I… I can’t. I think he can sense me.”
The bear suddenly turned around and sniffed the ground near Alyana.
“Don’t freeze. Keep moving. He can’t see you!”
Thick, viscous black drool fell from the mouth of the bear, landing on top of Alyana.
She stood paralyzed, unable to will her body to move. “I don’t know what’s wrong with me… My legs don't want to move.”
The AI of Centuria-3 switched to attack mode, loading ammunition into its auto-cannons, making an abundance of noise.
Deathy seemed aware of the droid’s location as it swiped its massive paws.
“No…” Jonas ran toward Alyana. “Run towards me! RUN! NOW!”
Centuria-3 fired its chain machine gun into the chest of the beast.
With a mighty swing of its front claws, the bear smacked Centuria-3 and Alyana into the wall of a nearby building, collapsing the wall on top of her and the droid.
Jonas lost sight of Alyana in the cloud of debris. “Alyana? Alyana! ALYANA!” He held his breath waiting for a response. “No…”
27
As the dust and spore clouds settled, Jonas saw an unconscious Alyana lying on the street below the giant bear. Parts of Centuria-3 laid broken in several pieces surrounding her. “Alyana! Speak to me!” He ran to her position.
Her visor fogged with each breath.
Still alive. Jonas glimpsed the bear’s paw and barrel rolled away before it connected with him. He switched on his strength neuromod.
The bear swiped at Jonas again.
He caught the massive paw with his arms and pulled the limb underneath the giant beast.
The bear gave a fearful roar as it flipped onto its back. Jet-black ooze splattered onto Jonas as the creature landed. The bear seemed stunned by the impact as it lay on its backside, motionless.
Jonas used the reprieve to carry Alyana down the street and into another building.
A suit warning message popped onto his HUD. Two hours of battery life remaining.
Using Alyana’s forearm terminal on her suit, he injected her with a combat stimulant.
Alyana gasped as she woke. She flicked her eyes at Jonas, surprised to be alive. “I’m still here!” A laugh escaped her lips. “Jonas…”
“I’m here.”
“I had the craziest nightmare. I dreamt some giant alien polar bear with a bad fungal infection was chasing us.”
“That’s some imagination.” He showed a half smile.
She ran her gloved fingers along Jonas’ chest. “Um. Did you know you have this sticky black goo all over your suit?”
“Long story.”
Alyana pushed herself up. “Where are the droids?”
“Gone.”
“It wasn’t a dream then.” Her face turned sour.
Jonas shook his head. “What’s your suit status?”
After a short pause. “41% battery, oxygen scrubber is green, no reported damage.”
“Yours?”
“Less than 25%.”
“Oh! We might need to head back.”
“We will. After we find Nume. We're about a kilometer away from the collapsed building we saw earlier.”
“That’s right…" She looked up as if recalling. "The blue streak.”
Jonas and Alyana hopped from rooftop to rooftop, avoiding the streets for fear of the monstrous bear tracking their scent. They stopped on top of a building across from the target. Below them was the long streak of dark blue liquid leading directly into the collapsed building.
“Help me scan for them,” Jonas said. He switched his visor camera from x-ray to ultraviolet and then infra-red.
“No signs of life detected in the rumble. I’m getting a faint distress signal coming directly below us. I’m guessing on the ground level of the building.”
Jonas changed to radio bands. His mini-map updated with green dots. “I see it. They're using Fleet signals.”
“It’s them!” Alyana cheered. “It has to be!”
“Hmm. Has Nume spoken to you telepathically?”
“No, not since we got off the ship.”
“You’re thinking the distress call is from someone else?”
“I don’t know. Let’s be cautious.” He armed his rifle.
Alyana trailed Jonas closely as they traveled down the stairs. “The signal just stopped.”
“I saw that too.”
“This feels like a trap...” She shook her head. “We shouldn’t continue…”
“Maybe. But there’s been many times someone could have attacked us.” Jonas stood behind the door to the first level and switched his camera to x-ray, allowing him to see through the building's walls. “I see Centuria-1 and Centuria-2. They look powered down. And there's a large body leaning against the right wall. That could be Kovat.”
“I don’t see Nume or any hostiles.”
“Let’s go.” Jonas burst through the door and scanned the room for hidden combatants.
Alyana followed Jonas and immediately crouched down on one knee before surveying the room.
Kovat was without his suit helmet and gloves. His eyes were closed, a dried blue crust covered his mouth and chin. The two Centuria droids had the signature melted metal confirmation of plasma fire. Their back panels laid opened with wires hastily pulled out. No other presence was in the room.
“Clear!” Jonas shouted.
“Clear,” Alyana confirmed.
“Check on Kovat,” Jonas ordered. He moved to the front of the building and looked outside at the blue streak of blood. Does that belong to Kovat or another Katok? Or maybe another creature with blue blood?
“Jonas, come here.” Alyana shined a light into Kovat’s dark, almond eyes. “I’m far from an expert on Katok physiology, but he doesn’t look good. I think they tortured him.”
“The only people that can extract information from a Katok is another Katok.”
“Or an Entrent. But Nume wouldn’t…”
“No, Nume wouldn’t.” Jonas released an exasperated scream as he punched through a wall. “Everywhere we go, more questions, fewer answers!” He glanced at the corner of his HUD. 19% battery power.
“We need to get Kovat back to the ship and into his regeneration pod.”
“Is there a way we can find out what happened here?”
Alyana shook her head. “Without an Entrent, we can’t speak to Kovat. We just can’t.”
“He’s too big for us to carry. Did you bring a hover stretcher?”
“I did! See if we can salvage the droids while I set up the stretcher.”
Jonas noticed the blinking lights on Centuria-1. “If we can repair this droid… Just get them to turn on, maybe we can see their last recordings.” He took off the droid's front chest plate. The battery packs looked damaged beyond repair, but the data recording unit seemed intact. I suppose I can use my suit’s power supply. He glanced at his HUD. 18% battery life. I have to take the risk… for Nume.
“Hover stretcher done and working!” Alyana approached Jonas. “Hey! What are you doing?” She grabbed his shoulder. “You can’t use your suit’s power to charge the droids! Use my suit instead!”
“It’s already done.” Jonas powered Centuria-1’s recording system. He tuned out Alyana’s chatter while he searched for the most recent video log. He found one time-stamped about two hours ago and played it on his HUD.
Nume and her team appeared pinned down in the street outside this building. Centuria-1 identified 12 hostiles surrounding her from all elevations. Centuria-2 provided suppressive fire so Nume and Kovat could retreat. Then Centuria-1 did the same for Centuria-2 until the team settled on the current building as a bunker.
Jonas fast forwarded the video until he saw the enemy combatants. He froze the video and zoomed in on the faces. One of them had a black mask with red eyes. “Raven.”
“You saw a bird?�
��
“No. Before I made it to you on Caldia station, a clandestine group kidnapped and tortured me.”
“You need to stop making enemies everywhere you go. It's a really tough way to go through life.”
“I just saw Raven again on this droid’s video log.”
Her eyes opened wide. “He took Nume? But why? To get to you?”
“He never made it clear what he wanted.” Jonas clenched his fist. If he hurt Nume, he’s dead.
“You mean, he just tortured you for fun?”
A battery warning message popped up.
Critical warning. Battery below 10%. Immediate recharge recommended.
“Not good…” Jonas whispered.
“What? Oh, you’re probably at critical battery levels.”
“I know, but I’m not done downloading the video logs.”
Alyana slapped his helmet. “If your suit loses power, you have to expose yourself to the spores that turn animals into gigantic monsters!”
“I know this. Yelling about it isn’t helping.”
She threw her arms in the air. "We have to get back to the ship. Now!” Alyana kicked him. “Help me get Kovat on the hover stretcher. We can always come back for the droids.”
“Just a minute…” The download confirmation appeared. “And finished.” He glanced at his HUD. 8% battery life…
Jonas led the procession back to the Zephyr. The unconscious Kovat followed on the hover stretcher with Alyana covering the rear.
“Do you hear a soft buzzing?” Alyana asked.
“Buzzing?” His eyes widened. “No…” Jonas turned around and saw the Chimera heading straight toward them. “RUN!”
Both Alyana and Jonas dove into buildings.
In the heat of the moment, the two forgot about Kovat.
Jonas ran back out for him, but the Chimera sprayed a noxious green liquid, blanketing the street and Kovat. The stones on the street fizzled as the corrosive spray ate through the road.
“Kovat…” Jonas stood helpless as he watched a blue and white gas rising from Kovat’s body.
The Chimera circled for another pass.
Jonas fired his rifle. Each shot was seemingly ineffective on the flying beast.
The Chimera dove and with its mandible, picked up Kovat in one scoop.