by B R Flores
six
MALUM
“Those who take time to find themselves have nothing to lose”
AZHA could not fathom another second at the Caverns without Rodia. Floating in space seemed to be an inviting escape. He turned into energy and flew through the trees, leaving Palatu behind, along with unnecessary and unwanted attention. He’d risked everything, and she died anyway. Grief-stricken and bloodthirsty, Azha looked down upon Palatu and vowed to destroy every Gystfin and Ryquat.
A flickering light spiraled in space several times before stopping, “May I float with you?” Belton asked.
Azha sighed. “I can’t imagine my life without Rodia.”
“No one else knows you’re here. Would you prefer that I keep your secret?” Belton asked.
“Yes. You can stay,” Azha said appreciative.
Azha needed to believe in something, anything, to make sense of all this death and misery. If not, then what?
“Belton do you believe I should go back to Earth? Azha asked.
“Don’t go. You were right, we’ll all die if we do nothing. The King forbids us to defend ourselves. His way is to submit if captured so others may escape. He’s wrong. Without you, I fear we have no chance.”
Hearing Belton gave Azha purpose. He’d return to Palatu and begin training immediately. Maybe, just maybe he could save the Quizans.
The entire Village reeked from the stench coming from the Gystfin’s oozing carcasses left under the sun to rot. A cluster of Quizans circled the Beasts, complaining about the noxious smell and blaming each other for not doing something about it. Azha snuck up behind them and scolded, “Why hasn’t anyone buried these nasty Gystfins?”
Several Quizans darted away, and others bounced off the ground. Puzzled by the question, one lively Quizan spoke-up, “What do you mean bury them? What is bury?” he asked.
Azha recalled this to be a Human practice not known to Quizans, so patience would be prudent.
Up close the Gystfins were even more disgusting. Their stench was seeping into Azha’s stripes, making him gag. Walking away he told the group to rendezvous at his cave. The dizzy Quizans were gagging worse than Azha, and their stripes were a sickly blue color. Azha wondered how long they would’ve stayed by the carcasses if he had not told them to leave? If this was any indication, instructing the Quizans on how to bury something was going to require an incredible amount of patience. Once everyone settled in, Azha began.
“First you dig a very deep hole in the ground, approximately two ola’s will do. After that, throw the carcasses into the hole. All the dirt that came out of the hole, goes back into the hole. That’s how you do it. Cover the nasty Gystfins with dirt and they won’t stink anymore… Got it?”
The Quizans rolled their eyes like he was crazy.
“What shall we make this hole with?” Several asked in unison.
Azha couldn’t believe the question. Frustrated he threw his arms up in the air.
“If this happened on Earth, Humans would have skinned, cooked, and eaten the Gystfins by now,” said Azha frustrated.
Everyone’s mouth dropped open in shock and their faces scrunched-up in disgust. Digging a hole was not going to happen. Azha quickly figured out another way to dispose of the two rotting carcasses.
Sternly and with less patience he began… lesson two.
“OK. Don’t dig a hole. I want all of you to help drag the carcasses far away from the village. After that, find a deep ditch. Once you’ve found the deep ditch, drag the carcasses over to the ditch and throw them in it. Next, I want all of you to collect a bunch of damn frickin rocks. Throw the rocks into the ditch until the Gystfins are completely covered. Is there any part of this you do not understand?” Azha snapped.
Unbelievably, the same Quizan asked, “Where do we collect damn, frickin rocks?”
Azha slapped his forehead and shouted, “What? Geez, put the damn rotting things in the ditch and cover them up with rocks, any rocks.”
Everyone agreed this was a splendid idea, and then the arguing commenced about who was going to drag the stinky Gystfins out of the village. Clearly, no one wanted to touch the nasty things. Azha interrupted their bickering and ordered the whiners to get out of his cavern. ‘Ugh!’
Grudgingly, the group dragged their feet back over to the Gystfins with Azha following, just in case one of them lost their way. Keeping a safe distance from the stench, Azha got a better look at the nasty Beasts. They reminded him of earth’s hyenas, except these animals were much larger and their hides were crusty with gross scabs. Repositioning himself upwind, he got close enough to kick the largest Gystfin over onto its back. His shoulders were broad, and his arms were long and muscular. What was entirely different were his hands. With three fingers and a short thumb, they looked like paws. Azha squeezed the pad and its six-inch claws extended-out like a cat’s. Its face was broad and ugly with a wide muzzle baring long, baboon-like yellow fangs. Azha racked his brain wondering why he couldn’t remember Gystfins. Having to compare the Beast to Earth’s creatures was confusing.
Not a single Quizan had dared to touch either Gystfin. They were far too busy complaining and debating who should drag them. The same Quizan who asked the meaning of bury and inquired about the rocks asked Azha if he would help drag the very heavy Gystfins out of the village. This was a perfect opportunity for a quid-pro-quo. He’d ask the vocal little Quizan how Gystfins fly. Somewhere deep within his consciousness he knew the answer. But ever since the merge, he’d suffered from indiscriminate memory loss.
Frowning the Quizan asked, “What, don’t you know?”
Embarrassed, Azha admitted that he’d forgotten many things from both past lives.
“Do you know who I am?” Asked the Quizan.
Azha shook his head no.
“I’m Roon, your friend before you bonded with Rodia. We’re from the esteemed Kismet Ebb Tribe. Our beautiful tropical village is located on the opposite side of the red volcano, where waves of silver ocean spray the molten rocks.”
So, I wasn’t hallucinating in the old winery. Roon’s description triggered a flood of precious lost memories of his village, his family, and of his old friend Roon. Even so, Azha still couldn’t recall the answer to his original question. Roon’s bright green stripes faded to a dull tan.
“Gystfins hunt us for their pleasure and our grey-death energy. Remember?” Roon asked.
“Sort of, but if you could fill in the missing parts for me I’d appreciate it,” said Azha.
“When they first invaded Palatu, several Quizans were captured alive for food and taken to their ship. As soon as we were exposed to the oxygen, we died. After that, they tried eating us before we faded. That’s when they discovered our grey-death energy. A Gystfin accidently inhaled some of it when he bit off a Quizan’s head. He was immediately stronger, could fly, and was able to breathe our atmosphere without wearing that bulky second skin. Worse than Gystfins are the Ryquats. They always hunt alone, slaughtering hundreds in a single rampage, sometimes an entire village.”
Desperate to remember, Azha closed his eyes, trying to picture a Ryquat monster. That ended abruptly when Prince Zith belted out his revelation, “I know of a deep ditch. The dragging shall begin.”
The motley crew of Quizans tripped over each other as they shuffled back and forth, circling the carcasses while acting as if they were extremely busy and working very hard. Neither Gystfin had been moved an inch. The constant bickering and complaining between grunts and groans were driving Azha crazy. Out of patience, he bent over and grabbed one leg from each Gystfin. With a yank, he straightened out their disfigured, bloated bodies and began dragging the Beasts through the dirt. Zith walked briskly in front of the group, guiding them to his special ditch.
Along the way the bickering continued; in fact, it got worse. Azha asked, then pleaded with the group to stop complaining. However, his efforts to silence them were completely ineffective. Teaching Quizans discipline and how to fight was going to be challe
nging, perhaps impossible.
None too soon for Azha, they arrived at Zith’s ‘special ditch.’ He had to insist they move their celebration dance aside so that he could shove the rancid Gystfins over the edge. Everyone watched as they tumbled down the rocky ledges before hitting the bottom with a loud thud. Mid-air, Azha noticed out of the corner of his eye several Quizans quietly and briskly walking away towards the village. Startling them with a sharp tongue, Azha barked, “Stop, get back over here and finish this. No one leaves until the ditch is full of rocks.”
Completely out of patience, Azha asked Roon to walk with him back to the village. Prince Zith gladly volunteered to supervise the all-important burying detail.
“Begin the search for damn, frickin rocks. There’ll be no glory for those who dawdle,” Zith shouted in a Kingly command.
Azha couldn’t help but smile, “Numero uno, I will return to check on the Rookies,” as he and Roon walked away.
Roon scratched his head, “What do numero uno and Rookie mean?”
“Shit, I don’t know. It just came out of my mouth,” Azha said confused. In the distance, Roon and Azha could hear Zith yelling at the lazy Quizans. However, drowning out Zith were the Quizans, whining and bickering with each other about who was gathering the most ‘frickin rocks.’
The walk home was peaceful, allowing Azha the opportunity to think about how he was going to begin Quizan training and if their enemies had weaknesses. If there was a ship close by, it would make sense to sabotage that first. Roon was inquisitive about everything. He’d know if a Gystfin ship was orbiting Palatu. When asked, Roon perked up, confessing that despite the King’s rule, he often explored space and that he knew where the ship was located. Azha proposed that when Belton was free from the Gystfin detail, the three of them investigate the ship together. Roon’s stripes turned bright green as he spun around giddy.
EARLY NEXT MORNING, COLORFUL SLEEPING Quizans covered the courtyard. This was a good sign. For the first time in many years the clan felt safe enough to leisurely soak up energy from the Targus Sun without feeling threatened. Azha came across Belton and his wife catnapping on the ground near a small mesa. Without making a sound, Azha crouched down to whisper in his ear, “Shhhh… don’t wake up Freya. Roon knows where a Gystfin ship is orbiting. Do you want to go with us?” Azha asked.
Belton gently picked up his sleepy wife’s floppy arm and removed it from his shoulder. Quietly, he motioned that he most definitely wanted to go. The trio flew into the horizon in search of the mysterious Gystfin ship.
It wasn’t long before Roon and Belton fell behind. Azha laughed aloud as he soared, spiraling them with each pass.
“Why is Azha laughing?” Roon asked.
Belton thought to himself, ‘How would I know?’
Roon continued to pester Belton. “What does a Human look like?”
“Um, I’ve heard they’re ugly and they bond while in body form, not in energy like us.”
Roon gasped, “That’s not possible.”
Miffed, Belton urged Roon to go ask Azha if he wanted to know any more ‘things’ about Humans.
From a distance, the Gystfin’s ship appeared to be a shadow cast by Palatu. They were virtually on top of it before noticing the reflection of its contour against the moon’s rocky surface. From the starboard side, the black ship was so thin it almost disappeared. As they flew towards the bow of the ship it expanded into an enormous flat sphere resembling a disc. Without Roon’s guidance, Azha would never have found it.
Belton and Roon flickered about while Azha scouted the mysterious vessel up close. The hull was smooth with few portals, no windows, and a massive Isosceles platform that was barely visible. The ship was either abandoned or maintained by a skeleton crew. Azha hovered above a tiny vent, signaling Roon and Belton to turn into energy and follow closely behind.
INFILTRATING THE OMINOUS SPACESHIP WAS the adventure of a lifetime for the little Quizans. Azha was determined to destroy it, return to Palatu, and kill every marooned Gystfin on the planet. Belton and Roon quickly wandered off and were buzzing around a colorful circuit panel. Before he could rein them in, they accidently activated a motion sensor and were darting about desperate to get Azha’s attention. Bright lights switched on in a succession of components, illuminating tiers, decks, and endless rows of corridors throughout the vast ship. Their cover was blown, but at least now they could get a good look at the ship’s interior.
The cargo bay they were in was stacked with containers as far as the eye could see. Flying through a myriad of bulkheads and corridors, Azha was awestruck at just how big the ship was. Catacombs were separated by hundreds of tiers that were divided into thousands of decks. Each deck housed what seemed to be an infinite number of massive cargo bays. Azha was reconsidering his original plan of destroying the ship to navigating it to Earth. All he had to do was figure out how to fly it. The ship would advance the Human species’ understanding of space travel by decades, if not centuries. Certainly, this grand token would be penance for his sinful abduction of Cole’s body. If not, so be it. He had no other options at the time. The journey to Earth had completely drained him of his life energy force. Even so, Azha struggled with his self-serving justifications to survive.
Azha morphed into body form. The air was refreshing and familiar oxygen. How strange that Gystfins breathed oxygen like Humans? Unlike him, Belton and Roon could not. They had to remain in energy or die from the toxic air. Azha was positive they welcomed the excuse to remain in energy while exploring the ship.
For hours, they searched tier after tier for the bridge and were no closer than when they’d started. Azha stumbled upon a schematic wall of neon screens located at the end of a long corridor. The screens were divided into three sections, and each section appeared to be a series of trajectory charts. Confused by it all, he stared at the wall trying to decipher the alien technology. Staring at it any longer wasn’t going to make any difference; it made no sense. Fed up, he decided to search an area displayed in bold red. Before leaving, he memorized most of the complex symbols, routes, and grids.
Azha’s instinct paid off. The bridge was located on the upper tier highlighted in red. If there were Gystfins on board, this is where they would be. Warning Belton and Roon to stay put, Azha did a quick search and cleared the tier of any Gystfins.
Walking onto the bridge was invigorating and brought Azha one step closer to commandeering the ship. It was grand, high-tech and sleek, not at all what he’d envisioned. Next step was to understand the alien symbols and logos on the control panels. To his surprise, these were self-explanatory and not all that complicated.
Belton and Roon were amazed at Azha. Being a part of this grand adventure with him was well worth the risk. Azha pushed several emblems, causing the massive ship to hum and the lights in the control center to switch on and blink intermittently. The dormant ship shook, and the entire bridge began to dance with a synchronized, spectacular neon performance. All around them they could feel the magnificent craft pulsate as if she had awoken from a deep sleep.
Flickering and afraid, Belton and Roon flew onto a low metal shelf next to Azha. A little concerned, but mostly humored, he squatted down to look at them, “Don’t be afraid, we’ll leave soon,” smiled Azha.
Curious, he touched several more logos to see what would happen. A powerful surge jolted the spaceship forward. Since Azha had no idea what he had done, or how to stop the massive craft he thought to himself, ‘Here goes…’ and pressed down on another red symbol. The ship lunged forward and spiraled into a downward pitch. Azha catapulted up, hitting the ceiling, and then slammed down onto the floor. Unable to grab onto anything, he slid across the deck until he smashed into a metal wall. Belton and Roon helplessly shot through several walls and out the bulkhead into space. Dumbfounded, they watched as the Gystfin spaceship disappeared into the unknown. Powerless and bewildered, they decided it would be best to stay where they fell out of the ship and wait for Azha.
After many d
ays of floating in space, Roon whimpered, “What if Azha’s lost?” Even though Belton was trying desperately not to cry, his voice cracked, “What if he can’t find energy? What if he faded away? What if a monster ate him?” Together they faithfully hovered in cold dark space awaiting their wayward hero.
FROM FAR AWAY A TINY light streaked towards them, growing brighter and brighter. It was Azha; he wasn’t dead! They celebrated by sending sparks into space, signaling their location. Their hero ascended next to them with a big smile on his face, then closed his eyes and stretched out to soak up the distant Targus Sun.
Roon bawled and Belton babbled, demanding an explanation, “What happened? Where’s the Gystfin’s ship? Say something!”
“Not now, let me rest and then I’ll tell you all about it,” yawned Azha.
Several hours later, Roon was annoyingly bobbing his head in Azha’s’ direction while mouthing at Belton to ask more questions. Being silenced like that was irritating and rude. Azha should have been willing to divulge a few more details before taking a nap. Several more hours passed before Azha awoke.
“I tried to stop the ship for days. So, I gave up and flew out of it,” Azha said acting as if he didn’t care.
In unison Belton and Roon snapped, “What? That’s it?” while shrugging their shoulders with doubtful gestures. Azha was in good spirits and chose to ignore their exaggerated antics by rolling over and not watching them. With that out of the way, it was as good a time as ever to head home. Besides, he was eager to begin the Quizan soldier training. Gloating to himself, he’d give anything to watch the Gystfins when they discovered their cargo ship missing.
RETURNING TO CAVERN VILLAGE WAS confusing. Everyone acted as if nothing had happened. They had spent several weeks lying in the sun all day, and Azha was beyond irritated. Quizans were complacent fools who never really intended to become soldiers. Training to fight the Gystfins should have started the day he returned, and instead the Quizans had continued their inactivity. This cavalier behavior was intolerable, and Zith needed to do something about it. Azha could feel his stripes turning red as he stormed across the village. Those unfortunate Quizans caught in his irate path turned into energy or ran to get out of his way before Azha purposely stepped on them. Zith ran to his doorway where he watched Azha stomp his way towards his cavern. By the time the overgrown oaf had barged past him, most of the village was traumatized. Having had his fill of cruel tyrants, Prince Zith jumped up and drop-kicked Azha in the shinbone.