by Nolan Fury
We shook hands.
Eratu was a green spotted alien, with three prongs at the top of his head that folded over like a joker’s cap. He had long slender fingers and toned, sinewy muscles. He had a thin, narrow face. He had yellow eyes and vertical pupils like a viper.
“Eratu is a tribal native, and he will serve as a translator should we encounter any Zokathu warriors.”
I cringed. Warriors? Curses? Rugged terrain? This was going to be more challenging than I had anticipated.
“Now let’s talk about price,” Brody said. “50,000 credits.”
My eyes bulged. Tyler and I exchanged a disappointed glance.
“25,000 now, and 25,000 when we return to the outpost,” Quinn said.
Brody pondered this for a moment. “Fair enough. We’ll leave in the morning. Meet me at the corner of Main and 29th at the edge of town. 6am.”
We shook hands, and Brody left with Eratu.
“You didn’t have to do that,” I said to Quinn.
She smiled. “Yes I did. You wouldn’t have a guide otherwise.”
“I don’t know what I’d do without you.”
“Just don’t forget that.” She winked.
We bunked in the Warbird for the night, then met Brody and Eratu in the morning. Two other sherpas joined us carrying packs of gear and supplies. We followed Brody as he hacked and slashed his way through the dense jungle with a plasma machete. It sliced through the thick foliage with ease.
The triple canopy of green leaves kept the direct sunlight from beating down on us. But the jungle was still oppressively hot. The dappled rays of sunlight filtered down to the underbrush. Sweat covered my body. The incline of the foothills quickly made my heart pound and my quads burn. I considered myself to be in good shape, but within half an hour I was already feeling drained. I hadn’t humped hills since basic training. All those years piloting an attack helicopter had apparently made me soft.
The heat and the rugged terrain weren’t the worst of it. The swarm of bugs buzzing my ears and stinging my neck drove me insane. I found myself constantly slapping and swatting at the noxious critters.
“You all have gotten your vaccinations, haven’t you?” Brody asked as he saw me squish one of the bloodsuckers against my skin.
“Vaccinations?”
He laughed and shook his head. “Yeah, these jungle-hawks carry all kinds of diseases. I’ve seen the toughest of men go down within an hour of a sting.”
I grimaced at the discomforting news. But it was too late now.
The jungle was filled with creepy crawly slithery things. You couldn’t sit down for more than a minute without something crawling on you.
“If we run into any Zokathu warriors,” Brody said, “do not make any sudden moves. Show no hostility. And pray that Eratu can talk his way out of trouble. Trespassing on sacred grounds is punishable by death in the Zokathu culture.”
“Good to know,” I said.
We slogged through the underbrush, crossed murky streams, and advanced deep into the jungle. Tyler breezed along like it was no big deal, hovering above the muck and foliage. I was quite envious.
If you didn’t know where you were going, it would be impossible to find your way out. Everything looked the same. Between the heat and exhaustion you’d probably travel around in circles until you died of exposure.
We reached an area that Brody thought would be suitable for a campsite. Brody built a fire, and the sherpas threw small discs the size of hockey pucks onto the ground that expanded into small housing structures about the size of a two-person tent.
Nightfall brought more bugs, but the fire seemed to keep them at bay.
We ate MREs around the fire and told stories. The food wasn’t half bad. I had some type of cheese tortellini thing. If these were anything like the MREs back home, I was going to be blocked up for the next few days. Which, in this environment, probably wasn’t a bad thing.
I kept hearing twigs snap and leaves rustle as something moved around the campsite. My eyes flicked to the darkness. There was something out there, stalking us.
27
Brody laughed at my paranoia.
I didn’t think it was so funny. I had lost my sidearm back on Capricorn when the casino thugs took it from me. I saw that Brody had a plasma pistol holstered to his belt. Eratu and the sherpas carried hunting knives. Along with Brody’s plasma machete, those were our only defenses.
“Relax,” Brody said. “The Jorkas will circle all night. But they won’t come near the flame.”
“Jorkas?” I asked.
“Jungle cats. Similar to panthers on Earth. But far more fierce. Fortunately, they frighten easy.”
Eratu and the Zokathu sherpas chuckled like they were all in on some joke.
Despite his cavalier attitude, I remained concerned, and planned to check on the fire multiple times throughout the night.
“I think I’m going to power down in the trees tonight,” Tyler said. “It might be safer.”
Quinn sat beside me and threw an arm around my waist. I put my arm around her and pulled her close. “I guess you really didn’t bargain for this, did you?”
“It’s an adventure, I’ll say that.” She paused for a moment. “I have to say, this is the most bizarre first date I’ve ever been on.”
“Isn’t this technically our second date?”
“I wouldn’t call last night a date. You have to go somewhere for it to be a date. We just stayed home and chilled.” She smiled.
Brody’s split lip and his bruises from yesterday’s fight had healed. There wasn’t so much as a scab on his face. It was further confirmation that he had some special abilities. “Tell me about the fight yesterday?”
Brody smiled. “Got lucky.”
“I think it was a little more than luck.”
We stared at each other for a moment.
“You’re a super, aren’t you?”
He chuckled. “Oh, no. Not me. I’m less than average.”
“Taking down the big guy wasn’t less than average.”
He exchanged a glance with Eratu. “Okay. You got me. I’ve got some regenerative capabilities and a little extra strength. It lets me pick up a little extra money in the fights.”
“Nobody knows, right?”
“Eratu knows. Raku and Blortuk know. But they keep my secret.” He grinned. “A guy’s got to make a living, doesn’t he? It’s not every day I get some fool to pay me 50,000 credits to take them to a cursed tomb.”
They all laughed.
Brody was a little smarmy, and I can’t say that I liked him much. But we needed him. I just hoped that he was leading us down the right path and that this wasn’t one of his scams.
We cleaned up after dinner, stoked the fire, and called it a night. I crawled into one of the tents with Quinn. The walls of the structure were soft and pliable and not totally opaque. I could see the glimmer of the fire through the translucent fabric. We unfurled our sleeping bags, and they expanded into fluffy cocoons.
I peeled off my clothes, and Quinn crawled into my bag and snuggled up with me.
“I never had sex in a jungle before,” she cooed.
Far be it from me to deprive her of that. Her smooth warm body rubbing up against me made things instantly stiff. Her soft lips pressed against mine. Our tongues danced, and my hands caressed her supple curves. I rolled on top of her, and she wrapped her legs around me.
She whispered in my ear, “Don’t make me scream too loud.”
Our hips gently rocked against each other. My shaft slid over her wetness. She was primed and ready to go. I parted her lips and slid myself inside slowly.
Quinn gasped and quickly covered her mouth. I took long easy strokes. Her silky slickness felt divine.
We tried not to get too crazy. We were in the middle of the jungle and had neighbors after all. Despite our best efforts to remain covert, Quinn’s moans grew louder. They finally crescendoed with a scream that echoed through the forest as I filled her with my st
eamy goodness.
My sweaty body collapsed atop hers. We were sopping wet. The inside of the tent felt like a sauna.
I rolled aside and relaxed, watching the flickering flames in a state of bliss.
My eyes widened as the shadow of a giant jungle cat played against the side of the tent. A deadly Jorka had found its way into camp. And it didn’t seem to be afraid of the fire!
28
I climbed out of the sleeping bag, and fumbled for my clothes, trying not to make a sound. I don’t know what I was planning on doing—I didn’t have a weapon. I moved to the opening of the tent and peeled open the flap to get a look at the fearsome creature.
I burst into laughter when I saw the thing. It was no bigger than a house cat. The shadow from the fire had made it look enormous.
The small cat meowed at me, then ran off.
I pulled my head back into the tent and closed the flap. Then I crawled back into bed with Quinn. We shared a good laugh and settled in for the night.
The morning was damp and somewhat cool. It wouldn’t stay that way for long. The sherpas packed the gear and collapsed the tents back into small pucks. We continued up the mountainside, heading for the tomb.
Another full day of hacking through the dense underbrush and fighting bugs and we were almost to our destination. We came upon a tall totem carved out of stone with a stylized face. Dried blood had been scrawled on the stone, and Eratu and the two sherpas’ eyes filled with fear. They stopped in their tracks and refused to go any farther.
“What’s the problem?” I asked.
“This is as far as they will go,” Brody said. “The blood is new. It means the Zokathu are angry, and will kill trespassers.”
“But aren’t they tribal natives?” I said.
“Yes, but their association with the settlers have made them outcasts. They will be treated as outsiders. Are you sure you want to continue?”
“I don’t have a choice.”
“You’re not after the riches in the tomb, are you?” Brody said, knowingly.
“I don’t care about riches.”
“Interesting.” He pondered this. “You seek the dagger?”
“Maybe.”
“The dagger is worth more than all the jewels in the tomb.”
“Have you been inside?”
“No. I’m not that stupid. This is all speculation of course. Like I said, no one that’s entered has ever come out.”
“That’s folklore and legend,” I said, dismissively.
“Believe what you want to believe,” Brody said.
Eratu and the others agreed to wait for us at the totems while we continued to the tomb. It was maybe another quarter-mile.
We had walked 100 yards when they took off back down the mountainside, leaving us to fend for ourselves. We had no food, no water, and no shelter. They might as well have killed us.
My body tensed and I clenched my fists. I glared at Brody. “Nice friends you’ve got there.”
“I’m just as pissed as you are.” He knew the gravity of the situation.
“What the hell are we going to do without water?”
“Relax. I know the jungle. We’ll live off the land. It will be more work, and we’ll be minus the comforts of home, but we’ll survive.”
I took a deep breath and tried to calm down. Getting bent out of shape wasn’t going to solve anything.
Tyler chased after the sherpas.
“Where are you going?” I yelled.
“To recover food and water!” He vanished into the thick foliage.
Quinn didn’t say anything. She didn’t need to. Her worried eyes said enough.
“We’ve come this far,” Brody said. “No sense turning back now.”
He kept marching through the foliage. We passed a few more scary totems, then reached the entrance to the tomb. The entrance was the mouth of a giant stone face carved into the mountainside.
“I did my job,” Brody said. “I got you to the tomb. It’s all you from here on out. I’ll wait here for two hours. If you’re not back by then, you’re not coming back.” He paused solemnly. “Good luck.”
“Thank you.” I turned my attention to Quinn. “You don’t have to come with me if you don’t want to.”
“You think I can’t handle a dark spooky tomb?”
I grinned. “Something tells me you could handle just about anything.”
I asked Brody if he’d let me borrow the machete. He hemmed and hawed for a moment, then handed it over.
Quinn and I walked through the giant mouth. The light from the entrance faded quickly. I activated the plasma blade, and the blue glow illuminated the passageway. Cobwebs dangled from the corners. Creepy crawly things slithered in and out of the cracks in the stone walls. Quinn took hold of my hand and squeezed tight. She might have acted like she wasn’t afraid, but I could tell this wasn’t her favorite place to be.
A gust of wind blew through the tunnel. It rustled our hair. The damp, cold air smelled of death.
A low pitched groan echoed through the passageway. It was as if the tomb itself was warning us to turn back. Quinn and I exchanged a wary glance.
We continued to push into the blackness when, suddenly, wall sconces flickered to life, burning with amber flames.
It was creepy. I was beginning to think that maybe there was something to the curse after all.
29
I saw a skull on the ground. A few more steps, and I saw a femur. Then a rib cage. Then metacarpals. As we pushed farther down the passageway, we saw more and more skeletons. Some were intact, some had been torn to shreds.
We reached an antechamber that contained a few artifacts made from shiny trivantium. Necklaces and other jewelry made with rare gemstones littered the area. I scanned the artifacts, looking for the dagger, but I didn’t see it. My guess was that it was buried with Netrak, a legendary King of the Zothaku. I learned from Eratu that Adynio is their God. And it is believed the dagger was forged by Adynio himself in the Eternal Fires and given to Netrak to defend his people from the immortals.
We continued into the tomb itself. A sarcophagus sat atop a riser in the center of the rotunda. Amber flames flickered, illuminating the area. Stone statues of Zokathu warriors rimmed the walls, as if protecting the tomb.
I crept toward the sarcophagus, gripping the machete. The glowing plasma beam crackled and arced like a bug zapper around the edge of the blade.
The sarcophagus was made out of a stone material similar to marble. It had ornate carvings and a heavy stone lid.
I moved to the sarcophagus and placed my hands on the lid. I pushed with all my might. My face reddened, and the veins in my neck bulged, but the damn thing wouldn’t budge. I strained again without success.
Quinn chuckled. “Let me give you a hand with that. She stepped to the stone coffin and pushed the top aside with ease. The heavy stone lid ground against the sarcophagus, echoing throughout the tomb.
My wide eyes gazed at her in disbelief. “How did you do that?”
She shrugged. “I’m a super. I have a little strength and speed along with my ability to body swap.”
“You’re tougher than you look.”
“I know.” A sly grin tugged at her lips.
Inside the sarcophagus lay King Netrak. He was remarkably well preserved. His weathered skin held his bones together like wrinkled old leather. But his features were still somewhat discernible, even after a thousand years in a damp tomb.
Clutched in his hand was the dagger. I pried his creaky, dusty fingers from the hilt. I grabbed the dagger and blew the dust and cobwebs off the blade. It still had a razor-sharp edge, and the metal had suffered no corrosion.
[Dagger Quest Complete.]
I grinned with satisfaction as I marveled at the blade.
I may have acquired the dagger, but the quest was far from over. We still had to escape the tomb. And that wasn’t going to be easy.
The stone statues guarding the tomb came to life. They crackled and rumbled a
s they began to move. Dust fell from their joints as they staggered from their pedestals.
“Here, take this!” I said, handing the dagger to Quinn.
We stood back to back, surrounded by these warriors. They closed in, gripping stone spears.
I sidestepped as a spear thrust toward me. I hacked at it with the machete, slicing it in half. Then I backhanded the blade across the warrior’s throat, severing its head. The stone head toppled away smashing the stone floor. The headless body crumbled and collapsed.
Another spear plunged toward me. I dodged the sharp tip and chopped at the spear.
Quinn moved like lightning. All I could really see was a blur of pink hair and her silver suit. She weaved through the cadre of warriors, hacking and slashing. In the blink of an eye she had downed four of them. She hadn’t flaunted her superpower until now. It was impressive to say the least.
I dodged more spears and hacked at stone warriors. Soon the tomb was littered with chunks of rock and debris. The guardians were reduced to rubble. The air filled with dust and haze.
Quinn did most of the work. I took out four of them while she took out the other six. We exchanged a triumphant glance and smiles pulled at our lips. But it didn’t last long.
The fragments of stone rolled across the floor, stacking themselves back together, reforming the warriors.
My eyes widened at the sight. “I think it’s time we get the hell out of here!”
“Good idea.”
I grabbed Quinn’s hand, and we ran back into the main passageway. The wall sconces flickered out, and once again darkness enveloped us. The glow of my plasma blade illuminated the passageway.
My legs drove me forward, and my chest heaved for breath. I ran as fast as I could toward the brilliant light at the end of the passageway. I knew Quinn could run faster. “Go ahead. I’ll catch up.”