“Boroc? Okay, I get it. That’s your name.”
“Why are you dressed like that?”
David looked down at his clothes. Even he hadn’t got used to his brightly coloured beach shorts. “It’s a long story. I’m kind of lost. Are you lost too?”
“What gives you that idea?”
“The handset.”
“I was with a few others and we were about to reclaim something that belonged to us, a Demituva Station and then without warning, I end up here. What’s it to you?”
“Maybe we can help each other.”
“I find that hard to believe.”
“Fine, okay.” David was beginning to struggle. “So what happened out there to those Squalvolvans?”
“Me.”
“You did all that! Do you realise that you probably saved my life? They were about to kill me.”
“I did it for myself. Self-defence.”
If the carnage in the desert was this things idea of self-defence, then he wouldn’t want to really upset it.
Boroc eyed David suspiciously and started walking.
“Wait, where are you going?”
“To find a way out of this hell hole.”
Boroc’s dark form disappeared into the mist.
“Wait for me,” David was hopping over the forest floor in his bare feet and had to run most of the way back to the desert, just to keep up.
David watched as Boroc surveyed the area and then reached into a small pocket on his belt to retrieve something. David couldn’t see what Boroc was looking at, a compass perhaps and he gave David a sideways glance and returned the object to his pocket.
“Well, human, I guess this is where we part company.”
“You can’t leave me here.”
“Why not?”
“You saved my life and if you leave me here I’ll die.”
“If I saved your life it was an accident and you humans don’t die that easy. Run off and find the rest of your kind.”
“There are other people out here?”
Boroc didn’t answer.
“I could really do with some help. We could travel together.”
“That’s not going to happen.”
On a normal day, this attitude would have got to David, but for some reason, he started to laugh and Boroc wasn’t sure what to make of this. He’d never heard a human laugh before; it wasn’t an emotion he was used to.
Boroc stepped onto the sand. It had been a while, but he remembered this terrain well. He had spent a good deal of his early career out here on the north globe and much of that time had been spent looking for the humans. He would have found them too, had it not been for the Lumsulu and the Ammarla. Dwelling in the past wouldn’t change anything and there were more important things to worry about, like this damned enemy without a physical form. And what was with this human? It seemed out of place. The clothes it wore were different and even its voice didn’t sound right.
While mulling things over, Boroc had reached one of the carts and its contents were scattered across the sand.
“And they said I was barbaric.”
“They had me tied up in one of these carts.”
Boroc spun around. “You still here?!”
“I have nowhere to go. Come on, Boroc, cut me some slack.”
“Keep it up, human and I’ll cut you more than slack.”
Boroc could see real desperation in the human’s eyes. A grovelling human, how pathetic. He carried on walking, stopping occasionally to examine his handiwork.
“How many bodies do you see?”
David shrugged. “Are you keeping count?”
“Maybe.”
David counted ten.
“This all of them?”
“No, there were a lot more, at least forty and that was after our encounter with the flying monstrosity.”
“The what?”
“It was big and black and made short work of them. I think it lived in the cave we entered for water.”
“An Awang.”
“If you say so.”
“The Awangs were dug by us, the Shamozolts. We could not have survived out here without them.”
“Oh right, the Awang is the name for the waterhole, not the big black thing?”
“Get a grip, human.”
“Wait.” David ran across the sand, for what reason Boroc couldn’t determine and then returned holding something. “My Flip-flops,” and David slipped them on his feet. “I thought I’d lost these. They fell off last night when I was trying to escape. I can’t believe how close I came to being turned into a meal.”
Boroc grunted but didn’t comment.
“So you used to live out here then?”
“We didn’t live here, we were looking for something.”
“Did you find what you were looking for?”
“Questions, questions, just stop with the damn questions. Do something useful and fill these.” Boroc threw a couple of animal skins at him.
Lying on the sand was one of the barrels that had escaped being smashed, so David did as he was asked and filled the two skins.
The skins smelt like they hadn’t so long ago parted company with the animal and to think they were going to drink this water. From his very limited experience out here, he knew that in half an hour he’d drink practically anything.
David noticed that Boroc was looking at the object again, which he assumed was a compass.
“Do you know where your buddies are?”
“I’m not worried about them. It’s why I’m here that concerns me.”
“Maybe it’s fate that brought us together.”
“Fate!” Boroc practically spat the word. “What planet did you say you were from?”
“Earth. I’m from Earth.”
“Of course you are. The planet of dirt.”
“You do have a sense of humour then.”
“Look, I don’t care too much for your kind. You arrived here uninvited thirty years ago and have been making a pain in the arse of yourselves ever since.”
“I arrived yesterday.”
Boroc stopped dead in his tracks. “Yesterday? Did you bang your head, human?”
“I did actually, several times, but I still arrived yesterday.”
“Don’t get smart, human.”
“Are there others around here like me?”
“I’m warning you.”
“Just asking.”
“Apparently we’re on the same side now, but that doesn’t mean I have to like it. Go back to your hiding place and leave me in peace.”
“Listen, Boroc, I know you don’t believe in fate, but if we are on the same side as you say, then it makes sense that we work together.”
“Firstly, don’t listen, me. Secondly, I don’t work with humans.”
Boroc turned and walked away, grinding his teeth as he went. The idea that he’d been dragged up here to the north globe to babysit this human did not sit well at all. In fact, it was an outrage and the more Boroc thought about it, the angrier he became. Could this human be telling the truth or was this some kind of test? Worse still, could another batch of them have landed here in the north? Whatever the reason, it was as irritating as having something stuck to the bottom of his boot and Boroc looked back, hoping the human had got the message, but it was still there.
“Do I have to cripple you to stop you from following me?” shouted Boroc.
“You’re my only hope. Look around, where am I meant to go?”
Boroc reached for his dagger and was charging back towards him and David didn’t know what to do and just froze. The blade was almost the length of David’s arm and the cold steel was now at his throat.
“Tell me you haven’t been sent as some kind of test.” Boroc spat the words and his eyes bulged so much that it looked like they were going to explode.
“Boroc, I’m as confused as you are. All I know is that I am here to find the Hidden Ones. I have this message that will help resolve things for all of us.”
Boroc s
uddenly howled with laughter. “You. A single human,” Boroc relaxed his grip and David fell back onto the sand. “That’s the craziest thing I’ve ever heard.”
David picked himself up. “I need your help to find these Hidden Ones that’s all and then we can both go back to our own lives. Look, you like killing things and I imagine there’s going to be plenty of that, so what do you say?”
“Damn you, human, you won’t last a day. Look at you.”
David resisted the temptation to say that he’d already survived two days.
Chapter Five
Premonition
So how does it feel to know you are here for the sustenance of another? The lifeblood for a species that helped bring you into this world.
Like seeds, we are sown, left to mature and then harvested. To survive we require the right conditions, a balance of light, water and food. The Formless Ones have given us all this and more, so what’s our problem?
Does a domesticated animal question its place? It is happy because its needs are catered for and it doesn’t have to think too hard. It never chose the existence that was imposed upon it and the same could be said of us. Like the animal in the field, we have become reliant on those that nurture us and we give ourselves willingly.
What if I whispered to the beast and told it what its true purpose was. Would the truth set it free? Would it even believe what I was saying or more likely, disregard me as a freak?
Have we forgotten the golden rule? Yes, we have, because the Formless Ones do not abide by it, why would they, when it appears they have been getting away with it for so long.
What needs to change? We do.
The messenger will show us the way. All we have to do is open our eyes.
Clom still couldn’t believe Huey had shot him and after all he’d done for him, what a kick in the teeth. The second hole in his shirt in as many days. Apart from getting knocked out for the second time, he had suffered no lasting effects, except the occasional ringing in his ears and like the small wound that the projectile had left in his chest, he was confident that it would disappear eventually. Clom had been taken to where the others had been awaiting their fate and the Femesumma looked very much in control and that was exactly how Huey wanted it.
They would suspect nothing, a voice had told Clom and he had been in no fit state to question how the voice knew this or who it was that was speaking to him, for that matter.
The Femesumma quickly processed them; as they wanted these human abominations off Vulsumar, pronto and were in transit to the teleportation chamber. You could have cut the air with a knife and it was pretty obvious that nothing good would come of this. They were all worried, but maybe not as worried as Clom, since the voice had returned and it was only when it apologised for shooting him that he realised it was Huey. Apparently, the projectile was not only a tranquilliser, but a transmitting device. Huey explained that the group would be split up again and some of them would be going to Earth to assist Miar, since the task of getting David to Shalasing would inevitably have its consequences. Her time on Earth had already stirred up some interest.
The other half of the group would be heading to the north globe to assist David on his journey to the Hidden Ones, just in case plan B failed. Had plan A already failed? Apparently not, but time not being linear, meant that plan A hadn’t yet been initiated, while B was actually an abbreviation.
Well, that made perfect sense and trying to process the information was making Clom’s ears ring even louder. Huey assured him that the ringing was only interference, so he needn’t worry. Clom wanted to inform the others, only Huey insisted that he kept this information to himself until they got to their destination.
They were forced into the teleportation chamber at gunpoint and there was speculation amongst the group over what had gone wrong and how they could possibly recover from this setback. Clom was the only one who knew the truth, only he couldn’t say anything just yet and it seemed no sooner was the chamber sealed, when someone flicked the switch and they were on their way. The teleportation process was painless and almost identical to the last time they got their molecules displaced.
The night was still, the sky was clear and had there been anyone around, they might have said it was a little too quiet. This quiet punctuation was deceptively ordinary, like a reflex we take for granted, the moment an out breath becomes an in breath; a thought becomes an action.
The moment passed and was replaced by a low humming sound that vibrated the ground, sending shockwaves across the field, which agitated the crop. The crop rustled and the humming changed to a high-pitched whine and at that point, a ball of light appeared. The light darted left and right, then circled the field a few times before shooting off into the night. A passer-by would have also noticed a strange mist rolling in across the field, which quickly evaporated and everything was still again.
“Damn getting teleported, I think I’ve gone blind,” said Clom.
“It’s just dark that’s all and the night will provide us with some cover,” said Laja.
Their eyes were slowly adjusting and so were their senses. “The air smells fresh,” said Lim. “Hold up, where is everyone? Laja?”
Laja turned to Clom. “You want to get something off your chest?”
“You know?” Clom looked surprised.
“I have a good idea, but let’s get out of the middle of this field first.”
“Wait, I have something to tell Lim. Miar is alive.”
Lim couldn’t believe his ears and was desperate to find out more; however, they needed to find a less conspicuous spot to gather their thoughts and hear what Clom had to say.
They followed Laja through the waist-high crop, desperately trying to keep the noise to a minimum, only they must have sounded like an army with intent on invasion.
Having made it across the field, they found themselves on a narrow track that ran around its edge. Rather than follow it, Laja led them into a copse, where a tree had recently been felled and they made their way over to it and sat down.
Laja confirmed that this was Earth, but before he could say any more, Lim fired a question at Clom. “Do you know where Miar is?”
“She’s here, somewhere,” replied Clom. “And that’s why we’re here.”
“How do you know this Clom?” asked Joeum.
“Huey shot me.” Clom looked down at the new hole in his shirt. “Apparently I have a transmitter inside me and he’s been talking to me. Pretty neat and I suppose that makes me part machine now.”
“Clom, can you concentrate. What about Miar?” asked Lim.
“Hold on, Lim,” said Joeum. “Where are the others?”
“They’ve gone to the north globe and will help David reach the Hidden Ones.”
“How did David get to Shalasing?” asked Joeum.
“I’m not sure he’s there yet. Miar’s here to help him, but we have to assist her somehow. I gather there have been some problems. Anyway, it sounds like she’s been busy.”
“This all sounds so mixed up,” said Lim.
“It’s meant to,” said Laja. “So that we might outwit the Formless Ones.”
“Huey tried to explain it, but it just made my head hurt,” said Clom.
“How are we going to proceed?” asked Joeum.
“With caution,” said Laja. “One thing’s for sure; my appearance is going to turn some heads.”
“Yeah, it’s not like a hat is going to help much,” said Clom.
The conversation stopped and they sat in silence, huddled together against the cool damp air and waited for sunrise. During the night there were unfamiliar sounds, but compared to the forests of Shalasing, it was really quiet. Things did warm up towards dawn, when the birds started twittering, to announce the start of a new day and their chorus gradually grew in volume as the sky brightened up.
Laja got to his feet and turned around slowly while taking in the landscape. He was trying to get a feel for what direction they should head in.
“
Did we do that?” asked Lim, looking out over the field.
“If we did, then the owner of that field isn’t going to be too pleased,” said Joeum.
Laja looked worried. “A crop circle, now that will bring the sort of attention we don’t need.”
Keeping their wits about them, they skirted the edge of the field until they reached a wooden gate and it was here that they joined a broad track with deep ruts, suggesting it was used quite frequently.
They had only just stepped through the gate when a couple of small birds flew out of the bushes right in front of them, giving them quite a scare. They composed themselves and watched the birds zigzag across the field, whistling and chirping loudly as they went.
The encounter had woken everyone up and now fully alert, they followed the track to the top of a hill and then stopped to survey their surroundings. Laja had a slight height advantage, but he could see nothing of note, just the dirt track they were following, which wound its way around to the left, passing green fields and a few small buildings.
“What do you think?” asked Lim.
“I’m no expert, but those buildings look like they were built for storage,” said Laja.
“I’d say that is exactly what they are,” agreed Joeum.
They followed the track to the bottom of the hill and after passing through another gate, they made their way over to one of the buildings. The building was pretty shabby, a number of tiles were missing from the roof and these were scattered on the ground around it. There were no windows, just a large door, which appeared to be holding the building up.
“This could be a good base for our reconnaissance,” said Joeum.
“Door’s got a lock on it,” said Clom.
“That shouldn’t be a problem,” said Laja and he slipped one hand around the primitive looking padlock and the other into an equally primitive handle and pulled the two in opposite directions. There was a loud crack and Laja was left holding the door. Clom couldn’t help himself and burst out laughing and even Joeum found it difficult to keep a straight face. The door couldn’t be reattached, so Laja propped it against the frame, leaving a gap for them to squeeze through.
Although the interior was dark, ample light streamed in through the holes in the roof and for all they knew, a giant moth had been busy during the night.
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