Karrin Warrior Child

by Sahara Foley

  Another Omar had been keeping an eye on this particular Comora as he’d been watching other Comora’s breeding in different dimensions. The Omar hopped over and shoved the offensive creature off Wtcha. Squirting yellow fluid from the gaping hole where his breeding organ used to be, the screeching Comora disappeared over the edge of the rift. The swirling mass of energy swallowed him up.

  Wtcha’s savior reached down and helped it to its feet. “Okay?” it asked.

  “Yuh,” Wtcha answered, wiping dirt and red grass from its brown fur.

  “What you do about what you saw? I saw it, too. Is that it?”

  “Dunna know. Where is silver ship?”

  The other Omar looked around and pointed. “There. In trees where always sits.” When it turned back, Wtcha was gone.

  It searched around for its friend, but didn’t find Wtcha anywhere. It peered over the edge of the rift. Did Wtcha accidentally fall over the rim into the time-slip? If so, his friend would not be coming back. Especially, if more than one dimension overlapped at the time it fell. Wtcha could end up in different pieces in each place.

  With a heavy heart, the Omar blessed itself and his friend, then scampered off to the silver ship. It had a message to deliver.

  Upset at the news, the Calen ship sent out an intense mental blast of anger and frustration. The resident life-forms cringed and whimpered in fear. The spacecraft scanned the rift as far as it could, but couldn’t locate Wtcha.

  Where did it go? Was it in the time-slip, or did it just take off? Had the event they’d been waiting for already happen?

  Hovering a few feet off the ground, the Calen vessel sat on a red grassy knoll, scanning and waiting. It was, now, one of the Watchers.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

  Karrin stood knee-deep in the white drifts. The wind howled through the trees, causing her eyes to sting from the biting cold. She stared unflinchingly at the Ispepyein warrior who wasn’t her Lurga.

  “Before you kill me, I want to know where Lurga is. Why do you have his fighter?”

  The gray Ispepyein carefully lowered his Seeder pistol. “I am named Tatum Pokatch, Leader of Ispepyein. Who are you to ask me questions? How do you know of Lurga Pukani?”

  Karrin crossed her arms, jutting out her chin. “I am Karrin, Warrior Child. Lurga was my friend. He brought me here to protect me.” She tilted her head as she stared at the Pep who towered over her. “I recall your name. You’re the Head of the Council. You told Lurga his Challenge was legal. Lurga told me you are brave and intelligent.”

  Tatum’s face became a paler shade of gray as he took a step back. “This cannot be,” he growled. “Lurga said you were dead.”

  “I don’t know anything about that. I remember going to sleep while Lurga was here. When I woke up, he was gone. I thought one of your warriors found him, attacked him, and took him away because he never came back.”

  Tatum’s breathing vents fluttered as he took another step backwards. “You are the powerful Warrior Child who bested Zelka and her guards, and contained the energy beast?”

  Karrin gave a small self-conscious smile, shuffling at the snow with one foot. “Well, yes, that was me. Where is Lurga? Why do you have his silver fighter?”

  With a slightly trembling hand, Tatum placed his Seeder pistol back in the holster. From what he heard, the weapon wouldn’t harm her. If he upset her, she might kill him. “Lurga has taught you well. Your Ispepyein is excellent.”

  Karrin looked up at him, shocked. What’s he talking about? We’re speaking English, aren’t we? She shivered, the cold and wind making her aware she didn’t have her fur poncho. There’s no way I can speak Ispepyein without converting my voice box. I can only do that with my abilities, which I don’t have anymore.

  She opened her mouth to dispute him, when a small, furry, brown creature with two long tails appeared out of thin air between them.

  Tatum snatched his Seeder pistol from his holster, aiming it at the unknown intruder, his finger twitching on the fire button. “What are you?” he asked in a demanding growl.

  “Oh, he appears to be a monkey.” Karrin stooped over for a better look.

  The small creature gibbered at them a few times and hopped through the deep snow to climb the nearest tree. It sat perched on an overhanging branch, tails tucked around its neck, and wiped the snow from its feet. The animal chittered at them while it cleaned itself.

  Tatum replaced the Seeder pistol. “I am not aware of what it is, but it is certainly smart enough not to like this cold, wet snow. Did you bring it with you, child?”

  Karrin shook her head. “No, I didn’t but that doesn’t matter, now. You have to tell me, where is Lurga?”

  Tatum peered down at the small girl, amazed she lasted this long in such a harsh environment. “I am sorry, child. That is not my place.”

  Karrin bit her lip, trying not to cry. She missed her Lurga so much and this was the only person who knew what happened to him. “Well, can you at least tell me if he’s alright?”

  “No, I cannot.”

  “You said you are Leader. That means Kargan isn’t anymore. So, what happened to my Lurga?” With each word, Karrin’s voice rose higher and louder, her small hands clenched in anger at her sides.

  Despite himself, Tatum stepped back, his hand going for the pistol, again. The child’s eyes were glowing. He quit reaching for his weapon. It wouldn’t protect him anyway.

  He took a deep breath, and said in as calm a voice as he could, “I am temporary Leader until the people vote. All I can tell you is, there was a Challenge between Kargan and Lurga. The rest I cannot disclose until after our vote. This is our law.”

  “Your Law?!” Karrin screamed at him. “I don’t have to follow your law.”

  Tatum backed up a few more steps, his hands in front of him. Tiny silver sparks jumped off the girl’s body when she yelled. All he wanted to do was climb in the fighter and leave before she harmed him.

  “Please, child, calm yourself. As Leader, I cannot disclose any of the events that occurred until after the vote. I cannot break the law as you and Lurga did.”

  “Then, why in the hell are you here?” Karrin yelled.

  Tatum nervously cleared his throat as he watched tiny sparks jump off her body to sizzle in the snow. The snow that was melting from around Karrin’s feet. “I did not come here,” he admitted softly. “I was brought here. Lurga’s fighter always heads toward this system. This time, I let it come all the way, so I could see where Lurga used to hide.”

  Blinking back the hot tears brimming in her eyes, Karrin pointed at the silver fighter. “Get back in the damn thing and get the hell out of here.”

  By now, sizzling, silver sparks flew as thick as the snow. Tatum didn’t need to be told twice. Turning on his heels, he stomped the rest of the way back to the ship, climbed aboard, and gave the Good Battle sign, and he was gone.

  In English, Karrin shouted, “Fuck you and your Good Battle.”

  Her heart breaking in two, head buried in her hands, Karrin finally faced the truth. Lurga Pukani was no more. From what her mentor taught her, personal fighters were considered sacred to the Ispepyein Warriors. The Contruda’s were programmed to their owner’s PSI powers, so giving a previously owned ship took some effort to reconfigure. It was seldom done.

  In between wracking sobs, Karrin shook her fist at the sky. “Damn you, Lurga. Why did you have to save me? You should’ve killed me on Earth. To hell with your pride and laws. And, damn you, Mamma Claudia. Why didn’t you let him kill me?”

  She turned and headed back toward the cave, tromping and kicking the snow along the way. The distraught girl sat down next to the pile of neatly stacked wood. For weeks, she tried starting a fire by rubbing two sticks together, but it never worked.

  Shivering with cold and grief, she wrapped her arms around her legs, trying to warm up. She glared at the unlit fire pit. “Burn, you bastard. BURN,” she hollered through chattering teeth.

  I’m so tired of being cold,
alone, and eating frozen, raw meat. Ever since Karrin could remember, she had been fighting and struggling to live. Maybe, now, is the time to just give up. Why keep fighting? I have no one left who cares about me anymore.

  Karrin laid her head on her knees and gave into her anguish. She bawled like she’d never cried before, the scalding tears trailing down her cheeks onto her legs. The girl sat that way a long time, crying, rocking back and forth.

  Dimly, she heard a soft chittering sound and opened her swollen, burning eyes, then lifted her head.

  The brown monkey was squatted in front of the fire. It chittered away at her, its twin tails over one shoulder as it held its paws out to the flames.

  She forgot all about the animal. He must’ve followed her to the cave.

  “Oh, you poor monkey,” she whispered. “You must be freezing. Is that why you came in here? To get warmed up?” Karrin stopped mid-thought, staring in amazement at the flickering, smokeless silver fire.

  “Fire,” Karrin hollered in excitement.

  The monkey jumped in alarm and scampered out of the cave.

  Karrin cocked her head, studying the flames. She never saw a fire quite like it before. Why is it silver? Where did it come from? She rubbed her eyes. Perhaps it’s not real.

  Scooching closer, she held out her cold hands. Silver flames leaped and crawled over the dry, brown timber. The crackling and smell of burning wood and the heat warming her body proved it was real.

  “Did I start the fire?” she asked in wonder.

  Suddenly, it dawned on her she had a fire for cooking. The starving girl quickly grabbed a big curved piece of the black rock, which was, now, silver. She ducked outside and packed it with snow before carefully sitting it on the burning wood.

  The dark, small cave suddenly lit up, shadows dancing off the walls as the silver reflected off each other. Karrin blinked her eyes several times before they adjusted to the light.

  Once the snow melted and began to boil, she threw in a frozen rabbit leg she had been gnawing on earlier. Pretty soon, her stomach rumbled at the mouth-watering aroma filling the cave.

  As the hungry girl sat huddled, waiting for the meat to cook, she caught movement out of the corner of her eye. The tiny creature was hesitantly creeping back inside. It settled down on the other side of the pit, halfway between the cave entrance and the fire. Its tails kept flickering, back and forth, at every move she made.

  Karrin smiled at its nervousness. “I’m not going to eat you, silly.” She pursed her lips, thinking. “Do monkeys eat meat?”

  She shrugged and went back to figuring out how to remove the makeshift pot of soup from the fire. She found a smaller piece of silver rock that could serve as a cup. Using a swatch of blue fur too little to use for clothing, she gingerly dipped the bowl into the boiling water, trying to snag the leg bone. The meat was so well done, it fell apart with a few big chunks falling into the cup.

  Grinning in anticipation, Karrin set the steaming cup on the cold floor of the cave. Within minutes, the broth was cool enough to fish out a huge piece of tender, boiled meat. She tore it in two and held out her hand, offering a chunk to the nervous creature.

  “Come on, little monkey. I’m not going to hurt you. You must be as hungry as I am.”

  Nose quivering, tails tucked over its shoulder, it took small steps before it tentatively reached out and hastily snatched the morsel from her fingers. With a squeak, it hopped back to its spot across the fire from Karrin. With wary eyes, it stuffed the meat into its mouth.

  “I guess monkeys do eat meat,” the girl said with a giggle. “Well, at least, you do.”

  She picked up her cup and took a small sip, a smile spreading across her face. It tasted so good. It’d been ages since she ate anything cooked, let alone warm.

  As she sipped and devoured her first hot meal in months, Karrin quietly spoke to her new friend. “You’re not from around here, so where did you come from? Are you lost? Are you somebody’s pet? Did someone send you?”

  She chuckled, remembering the look on Tatum’s face when the monkey popped out of thin air. “Hmm, that means you must have psychic abilities, or whoever sent you does.” Frowning, she stared down at the almost empty bowl. “If you are someone’s pet, I hope they don’t come back for you. I understand you’ll miss them, but I’ve been so lonely, and want you to stay. I tried to make a friend out of one of the rabbits we ate, but it was always trying to bite me. So, I ate it, instead.”

  The girl stared at the creature’s sharp teeth as it bit off another piece of meat. They didn’t resemble Lurga’s teeth, but they would hurt if bitten. “Umm, you don’t bite do you? Never mind,” she said, shaking her head. “I’ll keep you regardless. I promise not to eat you. Okay?”

  The brown furry face with black, marble eyes peered back at her, its ears twitching while she spoke.

  Karrin sighed. “That’s all right. You don’t need to talk. Lurga didn’t talk much either, except when he was grumpy. Then, he’d growl at me all day.”

  Tears formed in the corner of her eyes. “He’s dead, now, and I miss him.” She sniffled a few times, wiping away the tears. “But, he’s gone, and you’re here.”

  She sighed heavily. “I suppose we better find you a name. I can’t keep calling you monkey, can I? Especially since you really aren’t one, are you?”

  Karrin took her make-shift potholder and lifted the bowl with the remaining soup off the bright embers and set it aside. She added more wood to the crackling, hot coals, watching as the silver flames leaped up, licking the dry timber.

  Karrin was unsure if she’d be able to start a fire, again. It could’ve been a one-time thing.

  “You know, George,” and she wrinkled her nose. “Naw, your name isn’t George. Anyway, I should see if I DID start this fire.”

  Karrin picked up a small branch and held it in front of her face. She focused on the twig, her brows creased in concentration as she envisioned the end of the stick engulfed in silver fire.

  Flames jumped out from the end of the branch.

  Squealing in delight, Karrin tossed the lit stick into the blazing fire. “I did it. I did it. No more freezing to death or eating frozen meat.”

  The ecstatic girl jumped to her feet, twirling around in excitement, then saw the monkey standing at the entrance to the cave, on full alert. He chittered at her in agitation.

  “Oh, I’m sorry,” Karrin said contritely, sinking to her knees. “I didn’t mean to frighten you. It’s okay. I won’t hurt you. I got so excited. You see, I couldn’t go search for Lurga before because I was trying to stay alive. But, now, with fire, I can go anywhere on Switch.”

  Karrin hung her head, picking at a piece of fuzz on her blue pants. “But, he’s not on Switch, is he? They took him back to Ispepyien, and he must’ve died in the Challenge. Otherwise, he would’ve come back for me. I know he would have. He swore to protect me.”

  Lifting her head, she stared at her newfound friend. “You don’t realize this, but there are some mean people after me. That is why I’m here. Lurga was hiding me, but, now, he’s dead, and I miss him so much.” She sobbed, again, as she buried her face in her hands.

  “I’ve lost everyone I ever loved. You’ll probably leave me, too. What am I supposed to do? Where am I meant to be?” Wailing with grief, loneliness, and fear, she laid down, curling up into a tight ball. After a time, the small girl fell into a fitful sleep.