by Elin Wyn
“Let me see,” I ordered.
Axtin held out his hands. Bandages, antibiotic pills, some kind of antifungal ointment and – ah-ha!
“Perfect,” I sighed with relief and grabbed the small canister of cell repair spray from his hands.
“We’re going to have to remove the thorn now,” I said. “Maki, I’ll need you to spray the wound.”
“Me?” She stammered. “Can’t you do it?”
“Sure, if you want to pull the thorn out of her.”
“Never mind. I’ll spray,” she said.
“I thought you might say that. Do we have anything for pain?” I asked.
“Don’t think so,” Tyehn shook his head. “That spray should have a numbing agent inside it.”
“Let’s hope it’s strong enough.”
I took a small utility knife from my belt and used it to cut around the fabric of Alessa’s shirt. A ring of skin was exposed around the thorn.
“I hope you have good aim,” I said to Maki.
“Just shut up and do it. You’re making me nervous,” she snapped.
I carefully took the top of the thorn between pinched fingers. It was at least two inches thick around and a good six inches long. Four inches stuck out of Alessa’s side.
“I’m sorry if this hurts,” I whispered to her.
I gripped the thorn and pulled slowly at first. It didn’t budge. I wondered if it was covered in barbs. It might cause even more damage coming out than it did going in.
I pulled harder. Blood spurted from her side. The thorn had to come out right now before she bled to death but it was like it was fighting me.
“Skrell,” I swore and yanked as hard as I could. The thorn flew out of her side.
Maki dove in and coated the gushing wound with the cell regrowth spray until the small canister was empty.
I grabbed the bandages and pressed them against her wound. They quickly soaked through with blood but I kept the pressure on. The cell regrowth spray didn’t take long to work. She just had to hold on until then.
“She’s going to be short a few liters of blood,” Tyehn observed. “We probably shouldn’t move her too soon.”
“I don’t know if we’ll have that option,” Axtin said. “Some of those Gorgos ran off. They’ll probably be back.”
“Are they attracted to the smell of blood?” Maki asked.
“Not that we know of.”
“What, exactly, do we know?” She demanded.
“Not much,” Axtin replied. “Just that they only seem interested in humans and human bodies aren’t strong enough to contain them for long.”
“Comforting,” Maki smirked. “But I already knew that.”
“Then why’d you ask?”
“Because I was seriously hoping for some good news, okay?” She replied. “It’s easier to fight these things if I know more about them.”
“The lab is working on it. Hopefully, they’ve gotten some more test subjects,” Tyehn said.
I listened to their back and forth while I kept my eyes on Alessa. I watched her chest to make sure she was still breathing. I watched her wound to see if the cell regrowth spray worked.
The bleeding had slowed, but it hadn’t come to a complete stop yet. I pressed the pads of my fingers against her wrist. Her pulse was just barely there.
“I don’t suppose anyone has any spare blood on them?” I asked.
“I left my blood bags at home,” Maki joked.
“If any of that spray happened to get inside her wound, it’ll help generate new blood cells,” Tyehn said.
“It definitely got in her wound,” Maki said. “I’d say more of it got inside than outside.”
“Then she has a fighting chance,” I said. “So long as she doesn’t bleed out all of the new blood cells.”
“How optimistic of you,” Axtin said.
“I’m a realist.”
Alessa suddenly let out a sigh. Her eyelids fluttered, but wouldn’t open.
“Take it easy,” I whispered to her. “You’ve been injured. You’re probably in a lot of pain, but I need you to keep still.”
“It hurts.” Her voice was nothing more than a faint wheeze.
“I know,” I said. “But it’ll pass. You’ve already made it through the worst part.”
Or so I hoped. Relief flooded over me with such force that it knocked the breath out of my chest.
“What happened?” She asked.
“You kicked ass, that’s what happened,” Axtin laughed. “But right now, we need to talk and walk.”
“You saved our lives,” I told her as I gently lifted her in my arms, heart thumping so loud it almost drowned out the sound of my own voice. “You’re damn good with a blade.”
“Brother taught me.” She spoke in halting breaths. I almost didn’t want her to speak, but I figured it was a good way to distract her from the pain as her body healed.
“You have a brother? Older or younger?” I asked.
“Two. Both older.”
“What about sisters?”
“Two. Both older,” she repeated.
“Oh, so you’re the youngest,” I said. “I’m the oldest of my siblings but we never spent much time together.”
I didn’t know why I was telling her this. I supposed I hoped it would help her.
“Why not?”
She opened her eyes. Her vision looked unfocused but the fact that she was looking around was a good sign.
“I had to go earn a living,” I explained. “I didn’t have much growing up so as soon as I was able, I left. I couldn’t be an unnecessary financial burden on my parents.”
“That sounds rough.”
“It wasn’t so bad,” I shrugged. “I got to live on a lot of different planets, which was always interesting.”
“Like what?”
“I lived and worked on a planet that was completely covered in water,” I said. “We lived on floating rafts and would put on special suits to do the work we needed to do below the surface.”
“I couldn’t do that. I’m not a big fan of water. The water here is even more dangerous than the jungles.” Alessa looked more alert now. Color returned to her cheeks. I wasn’t ready to let her get up and walk around yet.
“The water on that planet wasn’t very safe either. Most of the things in it were toxic or venomous. The native populations built up immunity to most things but I wasn’t a native so I just had to be extra careful,” I explained.
“You’re oddly talkative,” Alessa observed.
“So are you,” I replied. “I never thought you’d tell me about your family.”
“You wanted to know about my family?” She furrowed her brow.
“I wanted to know about you,” I said. “A knife-wielding, monster-slaying, mechanical engineer like you must have an interesting story.”
“Are you just saying that to take my mind off the excruciating pain in my side?”
“Yes, but I genuinely am curious,” I said.
“Prove it.”
I wasn’t expecting that response.
“Um,” I stammered. “Did you always want to be an engineer?”
“I like knowing how things work,” she explained. “I’ve always been good at putting two pieces of nothing together and turning them into a functional something.”
“How does that fit into excavations?”
“It’s sort of like reverse engineering, I think,” she said. “I can see the remains of a functional something, as well as the pieces of nothing they’re made from. From there, I can make guesses about the purpose of the functional something. Does that make sense?”
“Yes,” I chuckled.
“It also helps to have someone on the team who’s good at guessing structural integrity,” she said.
“That’s a good point. The knife-wielding thing is a big bonus.”
“I’m glad to be of use.”
She was joking. She’d be fine.
But it’d be a lifetime before I forgot the smel
l of her blood.
Alessa
“Do you think you’re ready to try walking soon?” Navat asked. “I hate to say it, but I might need my hands in a hurry, and I’d rather not just drop you.”
My entire left side still hurt like a bitch but it now felt like severe bruising rather than a gushing puncture wound. I figured it was as good a time as any.
Besides, it had been disturbingly nice to lay in his arms. His warm, spicy smell was comforting.
“Catch me if I fall?” I asked.
“Of course.”
His smile made my heart clench. I’d gone to great lengths to keep him at arms-length since I’d been weak, kissed him behind the tents, but now that was harder to do.
He was nice. He was handsome.
He was still kind of an asshole but in a way that made me smile. Plus, he saved my life. That earned some bonus points in my book.
“Move carefully,” he advised. “Don’t push yourself if it hurts too much.”
“Define too much,” I asked.
“Eight on a scale of one to ten,” he suggested.
“I’m at a solid seven,” I replied. “I’ll give it a go.”
He offered his hand, which I grasped.
“Don’t look so nervous,” I joked when I saw his worried expression.
“I just want all of us to get out of here alive,” he replied.
“Me too.”
I counted down from three and he slowly lowered me to my feet. I was unsteady as a newborn Luurizi.
I stumbled forward. He caught me, letting me brace myself against him.
“Easy,” he said softly.
“I’m okay,” I assured him. “Just a little lightheaded.”
“You lost a considerable amount of blood,” he said.
“It’s true. It’s all right back there.” Axtin pointed down the tunnel behind us.
Navat caught my chin in his hand before I could look.
“Probably best if you don’t look at it.”
“You’re probably right,” I agreed. I looked to Maki instead. “Any ideas on what to do?”
“Besides making sure you don’t keel over?” She jested. “Not really. We’re back where we started, in a sense.”
“What about those bodies we found?” Bayla asked.
I’d completely forgotten about those strange burial rooms we’d stumbled across.
“What about them?” Axtin asked.
Bayla looked at him from the corner of her eye. It was obvious that she was terrified of him. I wondered if she was terrified of all the aliens.
I couldn’t blame her. She’d seen them do some fairly terrifying things even if those things were done to ensure her safety.
“It’s just that those burials seem to be the only real clue as to what this place is,” she said. “Maybe if we figure out what they’re for, we can figure out how to leave.”
“It’s as reasonable as anything we’ve done so far,” Maki shrugged. “Besides, those burials were really cool. I’d love to take another look at them.”
“I can’t think of a better idea,” Tyehn agreed. “Let’s do it.”
“Can you make it that far?” Navat asked me.
“I’ll have to go slowly,” I said.
“You five go on ahead,” Navat urged the others. “Alessa and I will catch up.”
“No way,” Axtin shook his head. “If you two are left alone, you’re practically defenseless.”
“He’s right,” I said. “If one of the surviving infected ones shows up, neither of us will be able to fight.”
“I will if I drop you,” he smirked.
“Drop me and I’ll slice your ankles,” I threatened playfully.
“I’ll be your escort,” Axtin declared. “Maki and Tyehn can look out for the other two.”
“Works for us,” Kip replied. “Got any weapons to spare?”
“Sorry,” Tyehn chuckled. “I can’t give you a weapon unless you show me proof of training. They aren’t made for humans.”
“Can’t blame me for asking,” Kip said.
Maki, Tyehn, Kip, and Bayla quickly left the chamber. Axtin stayed behind and kept a watchful eye on me and Navat as he helped me walk.
“Does it hurt?” Navat asked.
“I had a thorn as long as my arm in my side. Of course, it hurts. I’ll live.”
“Apologies for crashing your alone time,” Axtin said with a knowing smirk.
“Shut up,” Navat and I said at the same time.
“It appears I’ve struck a nerve.” Axtin walked out of the chamber ahead of us and peered into the corridor. “It looks clear if you want to get a move on. Do you want me to walk in front or behind?”
“Behind. I feel like these things are more likely to sneak up from behind.”
“After you,” Axtin swept his arm through the doorway.
Navat and I struggled to walk, at first. My legs were unsteady. Putting too much pressure on my left side hurt like hell. Eventually, we worked out a rhythm and started moving along at a fair pace.
“I should’ve let Tyehn do this,” Axtin grumbled behind us.
“I’m sorry we’re not speedy enough for you,” I called over my shoulder.
Navat kept one arm wrapped securely around my waist. I felt weightless in his grip though he still allowed me to pull my weight, so to speak.
I appreciated him for that. I hated feeling useless, especially in situations like this where it was vital that everyone contributed to the group’s survival. Granted, I’d never been in a situation like this before but I knew I couldn’t allow myself to become useless.
“I heard something,” Navat whisper. All three of us went still.
Something was definitely moving up ahead.
Axtin shone his flashlight, illuminating a figure. Fear seized in my heart. I was in no condition to fight or flee.
“You scared the wits out of us, Tyehn,” Axtin sighed.
“Apologies. That was the opposite of what I was trying to do,” he said.
“What is it? Why have you doubled back?” I asked.
“There’s something you need to see. It’s waiting for us.”
“It?” Navat said.
“One of the infected ones,” Tyehn explained. “It wants to talk to us.”
“What?” I blurted.
“That’s what it says. It’s standing there calmly. It said it would wait until we’re all there. It knows you’re hurt. It told me to tell you not to rush,” Tyehn explained. He looked aware of how odd his words were.
“How do you know this isn’t a trap?” Navat asked.
“I think it would’ve attacked us by now if it was,” Tyehn said. “Besides, why would it want more people in the room with it? It’s seen us fight. It knows it can’t beat all of us.”
“Isn’t this what you wanted?” I asked Navat. “I thought your people had a lab where they were studying these things.”
“This isn’t what I had in mind,” Navat said.
“This might be your only chance to have a conversation with one of them,” I said.
“Are you sure it’s infected?” Axtin asked Tyehn.
“I’m certain of it,” Tyehn insisted. “We should talk to it.”
“Let’s go,” I said to Navat. “What’s the worst that could happen?”
“You’re joking, right? You almost died an hour ago.”
“But I didn’t,” I grinned.
“What if it infects you?” He asked.
“What if it doesn’t? What if this is our one chance to get some answers?”
“I’m making an executive decision,” Axtin said. “We’re going.”
He offered an arm to me.
“I’ll take over your transportation issue,” he jested.
“Fine. We’ll go,” Navat grumbled and tightened his grip around my waist. “For the record, I think it’s a terrible idea.”
Axtin resumed his position behind us as Navat and I followed Tyehn. On the way to the burial chambers, we
passed the body of that terrible Bandiduke mutant. I looked away until it was behind us. If Navat noticed, he didn’t say anything. I was grateful for that. I’d shown enough vulnerability for one day.
Had it only been a day? I couldn’t tell. It felt like we’d been down here for ages.
We entered the first burial chamber. Sure enough, one of the infected survivors that had run off stood in the center of the room with a strange smile on its face.
No, not it. Her.
Her red hair was dirty and matted. Her body was covered in scrapes and bruises. She smiled when she saw us.
“Ah, at last.”
Her voice didn’t sound right. It sounded like twenty voices layered on top of one another.
“What do you want?” Navat snarled.
“You should address us with more respect,” she gave him a reproachful look.
Us?
“I don’t think so,” Navat replied.
“Don’t antagonize her,” I warned him.
“Listen to the girl,” she said. “We should suck out your eyes for trying to kill us.”
“We?” Maki asked softly.
“Don’t pretend you do not know us,” she snapped. “We are ancient and inevitable.”
“Are you the Gorgoxians?” Axtin asked.
She smiled. There were too many teeth in her mouth. The sight of her made me feel sick to my stomach. I clung to Navat without realizing it. He tightened his grip around me.
“We are meant to rule all,” she continued. “We are all-powerful. We are all-knowing. Allow us to rule over you. Through subjugation, you will find salvation.”
“That’s not how this works,” Axtin chuckled.
“How small you are,” she sneered. “Yet, you do not realize it. None of you do. The illusion of free will is fading away. Embrace it or we will make you.”
She tipped her head back and let out a shrill laugh. Something underneath her features shifted, but I couldn’t make it out.
Suddenly, her limbs started flailing. Her entire body trembled from head to toe.
“What’s happening?” I whispered.
“I don’t know,” Navat whispered back. He drew his mace and held it at the ready.
“Should we help her?” Maki asked.
“What could we do?” Tyehn countered.
“We should kill her,” Axtin said.
“No way,” Maki protested. “She’s valuable whether she wants to murder us or not.”