by Elin Wyn
“We’ll deal with that once we get out of here,” Axtin shook his head.
“Our work is never done.”
“That’s what we get for ruining someone else’s planet,” I sighed.
“We didn’t ruin it. The Xathi did. Are you telling me you’re not happy we’re here?”
“It’s not that,” I said. “This planet is fine. I enjoy helping the humans get back on their feet after all the destruction.”
“But?” Axtin prompted.
“It isn’t any different to me than any of the other places I’ve lived,” I shrugged.
“Really?” Axtin blinked in surprise. “I hated this place at first. I mean, I really hated it. Now, I can’t imagine living anywhere else.”
“That’s because your mate lives here,” I smirked.
“Yours probably does too.” Axtin nudged my shoulder. “You and Alessa seem to get along.”
“Are you kidding?” I scoffed. “We’ve been at each other’s throats since we met.”
Except for when we weren’t. Except for when her body had pressed against mine, the taste of her sweet lips on my tongue.
“That’s how Leena and I were,” he said. “We hated each other at first.”
“Nothing is going to happen between Alessa and me,” I insisted. “Especially not if we die down here.”
“Whatever you say,” Axtin said with a knowing smirk. “Where do you think the others went?”
“I’m not sure. We covered a lot of ground in that fight. I couldn’t tell you where we’re standing let alone where they could be.”
“Time to pick a direction and start walking?”
“Yup.”
We walked away from the creature, heading back the way we believed we’d come.
“Is that one of the tombs?” Axtin pointed at an archway.
“No, I think that’s an empty room.”
“This is ridiculous. We’re never going to find them again.”
“With luck, we’ll find a way out instead.”
Axtin gave me a look.
“You’d really leave them behind?”
“Of course not!” I snapped. “If we find a way out we can call for help. We can get another excavation team in here or use a heat sensor. Something. Anything. We’d be more useless up there than we are down here.”
“Wait,” Axtin cut me off. “Do you hear that?”
I listened closely. A low, keening noise permeated the silence.
“Maki?” I called. “Tyehn?”
The keening became a shriek.
“Srell, that sounds like a Gorgo possession,” Axtin groaned.
“Come on.” I jogged ahead.
“Why do you want to go towards it?” Axtin jogged after me.
“It doesn’t sound like the one from before. It could be one of the survivors.”
“They aren’t survivors anymore,” Axtin muttered.
I cast a dark look over my shoulder.
“Too blunt?”
“What do you think?”
“Sorry, I just spent an hour hacking apart a Xathi beast. Forgive me if I’m a little crass.”
A scream cut off my reply, quickly followed by the sound of bare feet smacking against the floor.
A figure rounded the corner. I recognized my special scientist adversary immediately.
“Oh, no,” I sighed.
“Help!” He screeched, clawing at his face and arms.
Suddenly, his face shifted. A nasty snarl took over his expression.
“There’s no help for you now. Give in!”
It was the voice of the Gorgo.
His looked at me, his eyes wild and shining in the dark.
I held still, waiting to see what he’d do. I gripped my mace loosely, ready to swing in case he attacked.
“She’s coming,” he rasped before rushing forward. I expected him to lunge for me but he ran around me instead.
“Who’s coming?” Axtin blinked in confusion.
Another set of footfalls echoed through the dark corridor. Alessa appeared out of the murk, covered in blood and dirty, wielding a knife as big as her arm.
“Don’t trust him,” Alessa warned us. “He just tried to kill us.”
“Hosts! Hosts! Hosts!” The scientist shrieked, tipping his head back farther than it should’ve been able to go. “We need hosts!”
“I don’t have a choice, do I?” I looked at Axtin.
“You know it has to be done,” he shrugged.
“No!” The scientist wailed. “I will have a host!”
He lunged at me.
I swung my mace.
His neck made a sickening crack before he fell to the ground.
“What the fuck?” Alessa demanded.
“I’m sorry,” I put my mace away and turned to face her. “I’m sorry you had to see that.”
Except... she didn’t seem particularly traumatized.
If anything, she was mad.
At me.
“I’ve just chased that thing through who know’s how many miles of tunnels, and you just bop it, and it’s dead?” She stopped over to the body and glared at it.”
“I didn’t realize it was so important to you.” I struggled over my word. This was not the reaction I was expecting.
“Those things destroyed my team, ruined my dig site, and tried to kill me. I’ve earned the right to take a little revenge.”
“You’re right,” I agreed because I didn’t know what else to do. “Are you all right otherwise?”
“I’m fine,” she muttered. “The others might not be. Let’s go.”
Without another word, she tucked the knife into her belt loop and jogged off into the darkness.
“She’s the perfect mate for you,” Axtin teased before rushing after her. “Grumpy, a little homicidal, unpredictable...”
Perfect.
Couldn’t be. She was fascinating, sure. Smart, beautiful, could hold her own.
But not my mate.
But I jogged after her anyway.
Alessa
I didn’t check to see if Axtin and Navat followed me. I assumed they did.
If they weren’t smart enough to follow me without being told to do so, I didn’t have much faith in them to ensure my survival.
I slowed my pace to take a breath.
I knew I wasn’t being fair to Axtin or Navat. They’d just risked their lives to kill that terrible…thing. I was just frazzled.
Frazzled was an understatement. I was teetering on the verge of a meltdown but I refused to let myself fall. I had to keep it together.
I simply wasn’t expecting to confront a childhood fear, be attacked by a colleague, and be at risk from a Gorgo possession within the span of ten minutes.
I believed I deserved a moment to have a little temper tantrum. It would’ve been therapeutically beneficial for me to kill the scientist.
Maybe.
Secretly, I felt glad Navat did it. Even with the anger and fear coursing through my veins, intensifying everything, I don’t think I could’ve done it.
He still looked normal for the most part. Even though he had a Gorgo crawling around in his brain.
The thought of it made me feel sick. I stumbled and braced myself against the wall.
“Alessa,” came Navat’s voice. I felt his hand on my shoulder. Two conflicting instincts raged inside me. Part of me wanted to pull away. The other part of me wanted to sink closer to him. I didn’t understand it. I didn’t understand anything right now.
“I…” I tried to speak but my voice cracked.
“It’s okay if you need to take a minute,” he said with surprising gentleness.
“What a lovely picture,” Axtin said.
“Shut up,” Navat grumbled. The pang of brotherly annoyance in his voice made me smile. I’d used that tone with my brothers more times than I could count.
“I’m fine,” I said once I was able to find my voice again. “Just felt a little sick. That’s not a sign of a Gorgo testing me
out as a host, is it?”
“Not that we’ve observed,” Navat said.
“I’m sure you meant that to be comforting,” I forced a smile. I still felt nauseous and terribly panicked, but it was manageable now.
A scream tore my attention away from Navat.
“Shit,” I whispered.
“What was that?”
“We have to move,” I pleaded. “I think another survivor has been possessed.”
“Shit,” Axtin and Navat echoed. We sprinted through the dimly lit corridors. I clipped my shoulder on an archway that was narrower than I anticipated but pushed on.
I led them to the room where we’d hidden earlier. I was shocked to see a dead body on the floor. For a moment, that’s all I was able to look at.
“Alessa, look out!” Navat yanked me back a step just as another Gorgo possesed human launched at me.
“How many are there?” I cried.
“Too many,” Maki called back to me. She had one on it’s back, her knee between its shoulder blades. “The possession came through so quickly. We couldn’t do anything to prevent it.”
As far as I knew, there wasn’t anything anyone could do to prevent it but I didn’t want to say as much right now.
Another one of the possessed launched at Maki, grabbing her around the neck in an attempt to haul her off its companion.
She tried to scream, but the damn thing had closed off her airway.
I ran at it before I could think twice. My hands wrapped around its neck and I began to squeeze. It clawed at my hands, leaving rake marks on my skin. Its distraction gave Maki a chance to dispatch the one beneath her, wheel around and fire a shot into the skull of the one on top of her.
“Good teamwork,” she barked out a humorless laugh.
Our reprieve didn’t last long. Another one of the possessed came at me. This time, I drew the knife I’d lifted off Tyehn.
I was ready and waiting, then the possessed one slammed into me. I drove the knife between its ribs again and again until it went still.
Another one of the possessed hovered in the corner of the room, its eyes gleaming with madness. It looked as if it were considering attacking. I bared my teeth and lunged at it. Instead of meeting me for a fight, it scurried away into the darkness. Anything human about it was long gone. It had been less than an hour since the scientist’s mind was taken.
“How many are left?” I dreaded the question but I had to ask it.
“Just us,” A small voice said. Two survivors from the team of scientists remained. None of my crew. One male. One female. The female had been the one to speak.
“What’s your name?” I asked her. I should’ve asked long ago. I should’ve known all their names.
“Bayla,” she replied.
“I’m Kip,” the man said.
“Good to meet you,” I said and then laughed at the awkwardness of my words.
“Odd time to exchange pleasantries, isn’t it?” Navat said. He put his mace away, a bloodied body as his feet.
He looked at the shredded body beside me.
“Did you do that?”
“I did.”
“Just with a knife?” He pointed to the knife still buried in the body .
“I was scared for my life,” I replied.
“Nice work,” he nodded in approval.
“Thanks. I never want to do that again,” I said.
“I thought you liked claiming your kills,” he asked, one eyebrow raised and a small smirk on his lips.
“I like stopping those who want to hurt me,” I replied.
“Fair enough.”
“Tyehn might want this back,” I said as I ripped the knife out of the limp body. I thanked the stars for adrenaline. I’d never be able to do get through this without losing my mind without it. I dreaded the moment it wore off.
“Speaking of Tyehn, where did he go?”
“Wasn’t he just here?” Maki asked, her voice pinched with fear.
“I thought so.” Another wave of panic rose up inside me.
A harsh scuttling sound rang out.
“Skrell!” Tyehn’s voice was unmistakable.
“Where the hell is he?” Maki demanded. She took off, following his voice and the sounds that came with it.
We found him a few chambers over, locked in battle with the most terrifying creature I’d ever seen.
“What fresh hell is this?” I cried.
The creature had a heavily armored body surrounded by at least ten thorny legs. It was twice the size of Tyehn, who darted between its legs as he sliced.
“Oh my god,” Maki smacked her hand over her mouth. Tears welled in her eyes.
“Get back,” Navat instructed.
He didn’t need to tell me twice. After killing the possessed ones, I had no desire to get tangled up with whatever the fuck that was.
“How many nightmarish creatures are hidden in here?” I whispered as I pulled Maki back. I’d never seen her look so scared.
“I just want Tyehn to be safe,” Maki whimpered. “I’ve never had to worry about someone besides myself before.”
“He’ll be fine,” I assured her. “They’re tough. More than tough.”
I couldn’t let her break down on us now. We needed her.
I risked a glance at the men battling the monster. It wasn’t going well. It had too many legs. It blocked their every move.
From what I could tell, it looked like it was protecting its underside. That was the weak spot for most creatures on this planet, aside from our sentient trees. This creature appeared to be doing everything it could to stop Tyehn, Navat, and Axtin from getting underneath it.
That gave me an idea.
I still had Tyehn’s knife.
“Whatever you do,” I told Maki, “don’t move.”
“What are you going to do?”
“Something stupid,” I replied.
I waited until the creature’s back, or what I assumed was it’s back, was turned to me before darting forward. It was preoccupied with Tyehn’s guns, Axtin’s hammer, and Navat’s mace. It didn’t see me slip between its two backmost legs.
Something pinched my left side, but I brushed it off.
I drew the blade and shoved it between two of the armored plates. The monster shrieked and thrashed about, trying to reach me.
Tyehn fired a few shots and the monster went rigid. I scrambled away from it just as it collapsed, dead.
“Fuck,” I sighed. “What the hell was that thing? I’ve never seen anything like it before.”
Maki, Tyehn, Axtin, and Navat just stared at me. They were all giving me strange looks.
“What?” I demanded. I tried to take a step forward but pain shot through my left side. My legs buckled. “What’s happening?”
Navat and Maki knelt beside me.
“Don’t worry,” Maki soothed. “You’re going to be okay.”
“Okay?” I repeated. “What are you talking about?”
It was then that I saw it. Protruding from my side was one of the thorns from that monster’s leg. How had I not noticed it?
The damn adrenaline.
“What should I do?” I asked. “Do I pull it out?”
“No,” Navat said quickly. “Whatever you do, don’t touch it. It’s stopping you from bleeding out.”
“But it hurts,” I whimpered. The pain was unbearable now. “Please, help me. I don’t want to die down here.”
“I know,” Navat said. “You won’t. We’re going to figure something out, right?” He looked to the others, who nodded nervously.
They didn’t believe I was going to be okay. I could see it in their eyes.
“Just rest,” Navat urged. “Rest while we think.”
“Okay,” I nodded.
Within moments, everything went black. I didn’t want to go into the darkness, but I couldn’t make it stop.
Navat
This was bad. This was really bad.
That thorn was deep in Alessa’s side. If I rem
oved it, she would bleed out in minutes. I couldn’t very well leave it in, either. We had to do something before she went into shock. I wasn’t about to lose another member of this team. Not her. Not after all she’d survived.
“What do we do?” Maki asked.
“Med packs,” I blurted. “Who has one.”
“I have part of one,” Axtin offered. “That Xathi-hybrid creature damaged the package.”
Axtin showed me a torn up med back strapped to his hip.
“Do you think the stuff that fell out is still in the tunnels?” I asked.
“It’s possible. I’ll check it out.”
“Take Tyehn with you,” I ordered.
Tyehn followed Axtin without argument.
“What do you want me to do?” Maki asked.
“Get her into a better position, if you can.”
I looked back at Alessa and saw that her eyes were closed.
“Oh, no.” I leaned in close to her, listening for breath. It was there, but it was far too faint. She didn’t have long.
“What do we need?” Maki asked, slowly shifting Alessa’s body so that she was flat on her back. Maki placed Alessa’s head in her lap. I could almost pretend Alessa was sleeping.
“Something to close the wound,” I said. “There’s a spray in the med packs that’s good for patching up wounds.”
“Is she going to need stitches?”
“I’d prefer not to use those,” I said. “They can split open. We’re going to need her to be mobile once we get her back on her feet.”
“She’s so pale,” Maki observed. “What if that thing had poisoned thorns?”
I hadn’t considered that. It was a very real possibility.
“Stay with her. I’ll check it out.”
I walked over to the spindly carcass of the hellish creature. I used my flashlight to examine the thorns on its legs. They didn’t smell toxic and they didn’t appear to be covered in any kind of substance.
“I don’t see anything that indicates poison,” I said. “Let’s hope that’s the case. The med packs usually only have a general antidote.”
“It probably won’t work if she has been poisoned,” Maki said. “I’ve never seen anything like that before. Not even in the wilderness guides.”
“Let’s hope it’s the only one.”
“I found some stuff,” Axtin trotted back into the room with Tyehn on his heels.