“You just did!” Sasha snapped, put off by the woman’s behavior.
“No, I mean beneath your shirt.”
Sasha’s eyes narrowed but she grudgingly reached down to pull up her shirt to show her curved stomach to them. Kira placed her fingers on it and then let her palm rest, cupping the smooth flesh of her pregnant belly. She moved it around slowly, then pulled her hand back and smiled. “Twins,” she said.
“Twins?” Sasha echoed. “How can you tell? I mean, that explains why I’m so big so soon. Well no, not really, but it almost explains it. Twins…Klous will be thrilled!”
“They feel right,” Kira said, then shrugged. “I’m happy for you. It seems Vitalis has taken to you.” The huntress paused a moment then let a genuine smile slip through. “I may not think highly of your husband but I’m happy for you. Perhaps envious, I can’t have any children. I know you don’t like me, but if you ever need anything, just let me know.”
Sasha clamped her lips shut again, the smiled and nodded. She blinked back the moisture that glistened in her eyes and turned to see Tarn and Sharp both watching her. She cleared her throat nervously. “I’ve got work to do and Kelsey’s either worried and doing everything he can to hear what we’re saying. I don’t know any more about where Klous might be, I’m sorry.”
Sharp nodded then gave her a smile of his own. “Go ahead. And good luck with everything,” Sharp gestured towards her belly, uncertain of what all the pregnancy entailed.
After they’d walked back across a bridge to distance themselves from Sasha and Kelsey Sharp stopped and rapped on the tree, checking to see if Aran was in.
Tarn grunted when he realized who’s place they were at. “Captain, Aran’s at the pits with Ben. They relieved me and Elsa earlier tonight.”
“Good,” Sharp said. “We need to find out what Klous is up to. I can’t imagine it being all that harmful to us, but all the same…”
“I’ll find him,” Kira vowed.
“How?” Tarn blurted. “You got no idea where they went!”
“No,” Kira said. “I’ve got an idea.”
“Where?” Tarn demanded.
“I’ll let you know if I find them there.”
Tarn swore before looking at Captain Sharp. Jonathan shrugged his shoulders. “There’s a reason why I stay single.”
Chapter 5
“You sure you know where we’re going?” Ling asked from where he sat in the middle of the stream.
“Get up,” Klous snapped. “And watch where you step next time! Yes, I know where we’re going. I used to hunt up this way when it was my turn.”
“Aran used to go with you, didn’t he?” Ling asked, picking himself up and checking his hands for cuts from where he’d fallen. “And why are we walking through this stupid stream!”
“Harder for them to track us,” Klous said. “Kira’s got a nose on her like a prowler.”
“You think she can smell where we went?”
He shrugged. “I wouldn’t put it past the nosy bitch.”
Ling’s eyes widened. When Klous approached him with his latest idea he’d seemed excited, but the more time passed the more his former captain seemed on edge. “Why isn’t Aran with us, from what you told me I’m sure he’d be interested in helping out.”
Klous paused. Ling watched the blond man take a deep breath and let it out before he turned to face him. “I can’t trust Aran anymore.” Klous turned around without saying any more.
“That’s it?” Ling asked.
Klous didn’t respond.
“It’s been three months since those shuttles crashed, you can’t expect anything to work still,” the former engineer tried a different track.
“Then why are you with me?” Klous turned and snarled at him. “I’m sick and fucking tired of living under the Sharp’s golden rule! This planet is more than big enough for all of us, we need to use it to our advantage!”
Ling nodded. “I just wanted to make sure you thought this through. Sure things break down fast, but I’m better with electronics than Eric or Gresham. As long as I can find some parts that aren’t damaged I’m sure I can rig something up that’ll put you in touch with the fleet.”
“That’s what I need. We have to establish ourselves and make some deals. I know I can get more support from them, but I can only ask for so much while Sharp and his people are listening.”
“They’re gonna be pissed when they find out I’m not at my post.”
Klous shrugged. “Human life is too important,” he said in a parody of one of Sharp’s speeches. “You’ll be fine. When things go the way I plan, you’ll be with me and you won’t need to worry about it ever again.”
Ling nodded. “Just so long as you don’t forget that.”
“Since we’ve been stuck here, have I turned my back on any of my crew?”
“What about Aran?” Ling brought the topic back to the man who had once seemed to be as close as anyone could be to the Captain.
Klous opened and shut his mouth, snarling in the process. He jerked his head, shaking it once almost violently. “He made his own bed to sleep in.”
Klous started off again, following the stream into the soggy marsh to the southeast of Treetown. The bottom turned from rocks and sand to sucking mud. The water grew deeper, rising to their knees.
“There’s some nasty critters in here,” Ling whispered.
Klous nodded and made his way to the reed and wildflower covered bank. He climbed up, taking care to avoid some of the most beautiful tropical flowers, and waited for Ling to join him. “Be careful,” Klous whispered, “some of these plants are poisonous.”
Ling’s eyes widened as he tried to minimize his tall frame. He’d been out hunting a few times himself — everyone took turns — but he’d stayed in the jungle or near the beach. He’d never come south before. Since the spitters took over the research colony that area had been forbidden to anyone other than Kira and her team of scouts. Now one of them was missing.
Watching where he stepped as best he could, Ling let his thoughts wander back to Aran and Klous. Aran had been hired on as The Black Hole’s pilot, though saying he had a mercenary’s nature was too kind. He’d never been caught up in the thrill of being a pirate, for him the thrill had always been greed.
Ling forced his mind back on Aran, trying to spot any unusual behavior. He hadn’t noticed anything. Lizzie, his girlfriend, spent a lot of time with Sasha and she’d never mentioned anything either. He wiped the sweat off his brow and the worrisome thoughts away at the same time. He emerged from the weeds and stepped up next to Klous so he could enjoy the faint breeze that reached them. The sun burned an orange fireball in the western sky as it dipped towards the ocean.
“We’ve got to go up there?” Ling followed Klous’s outstretched hand to the tall ridge of hills ahead of them.
“There’s lots of passes, don’t worry.”
“Why would I worry?” Ling muttered. He had to hurry to catch up to Klous. “Oh wait, maybe because the sun’s going to set and it’ll be dark soon?”
“We’re out of the bog and the jungle, we’ll be fine.”
A small herd of stocky four legged animals ran through the knee high grasses to the east of them, followed a moment later by a screecher. The predator lived up to its name and shrieked at them as they ran away. One of the animals, dubbed bulldogs because of their proportionally short legs and short snouts, tripped on a rock and rolled across the ground. It stumbled back to its feet but not in time. The screecher was on it, pinning it down with one heavy foot then dropping its toothy beak to silence the bleats from the trapped animal.
“Yeah, we’ll be fine,” Ling muttered.
“You don’t have to be the fastest thing out here,” Klous advised him. “Just faster than something else.”
Ling stared at him, his eyebrows raised almost to his hairline. Klous grinned and headed off towards the hills. A screech from the victorious predator spurred Ling into action. He grabbed his spear tightly an
d hurried after his companion.
Even with night falling fast around them they had no problems. Twice they scattered small herds of what they’d taken to calling Vitalian deer. They were smaller than the bulky beast that had been attacked and killed by the screecher, but still as tall as a man and four legged. The males had a twisted horn on their head that looked like a corkscrew and a tail that was thin and able to strike out like a whip. As fearsome as they looked, they were timid beasts that bolted when Klous and Ling stumbled into the areas where they’d bedded down.
“Defenseless animals just accepting that at any time they could be hunted down and killed by a predator,” Klous had remarked after the second such occasion.
Ling was trying to keep his own heart from leaping out of his chest. The deer may have been the ones to run away, but the sudden activity had startled him almost as badly!
“There’s a balance on this planet,” Klous mused aloud. “They accept that some of them have to die so the rest can go on to live. We altered that balance when we showed up because we’re smart enough to know we don’t want to die.”
Ling grunted, testing his lungs to see if he could talk yet. “I don’t think that bulldog the screecher killed was too happy about dying.”
“Probably not, but the screecher was fed and the other bulldogs stopped running as fast.”
“But because we’re trying to protect our species, we threaten the balance?”
Klous chuckled. “We almost sound like Kira. Throw in a couple references to the great spirit of the planet and I’d have to push us both off a cliff.”
Ling frowned. It did sound like something Kira would say. Perhaps she was right? Humans were the aliens on Vitalis, not the other way around.
“We’ll survive here, Ling. No, we’ll thrive here!” Klous said, the light of the stars casting shadows that made his eyes seem like empty pools. “And if that means we have to sacrifice a few for the good of the many, so be it!”
Ling smiled back until Klous turned away, then he gave in to the shiver Klous’s words caused. As long as he was in good with Klous he knew he wouldn’t run the risk of being one of the sacrifices. Or so he hoped.
They climbed into the hills, saving their breath for the arduous climbing. Ling had spent most of his time and skills in construction since coming to Vitalis. On top of what living on Vitalis had a way of doing to everyone he’d grown strong from the work. Long climbs and forced marches, he was learning, were something else entirely.
They reached the top of the one of the ridges and stared across the starlit plain. Making out shapes and movement was difficult in spite of the cloudless sky. Ling looked around, marveling at how severe the landscape looked at night. Shadows were everywhere, plunging so many places into a blackness that made the hair rise on his arms. Were there predators hiding in the dark holes of the hills? Another shadow swept across the plains, forcing the muscles in his throat to lock up.
Ling looked up and saw one of the giant flying creatures swooping low across the night sky. It blotted out the stars as it passed, looking for a midnight snack.
“Where to?” Ling whispered once he’d forced himself to breathe again.
“Look around, the shuttles crashed all over the place. Hopefully we can find them on this side.” Klous didn’t need to explain why he felt that way. If they had to cross over the plains they’d be walking through the spitters backyard. Even with only the starlight to guide them they could see the massive mound of dirt in the middle of the grassy plain the spitters used as their home.
They headed down the natural pass, leaving the ravine behind and looking for signs of the crashed shuttles. Minutes turned to hours as they searched. Soon the eastern sky grew brighter, heralding the approach of dawn.
“Be able to see what we’re looking for at least,” Klous muttered. Ling noted how Klous’ mood darkened as the night wore on without any success. The former pirate grinned, casting his foul temper aside as he pointed ahead of them. “Near that small rise, that looks like the outline of a shuttle!”
Ling stared at it and found his head and shoulder felt lighter. He shared Klous’s grin. “I think you’re right, Captain.”
Klous clapped him on the back and they hurried across the ground towards the promising hulk. Grasses and small bushes grew around the shuttle, making it appear older than either of them. Vitalis was misleading like that. On top of the incredible life force of the animals and plants displayed, Vitalis had a way of breaking down and consuming anything that wasn’t natural to it. That or, in the case of the survivors, it became a part of them and cast aside the impurities it found.
“See what you can use, I’ll keep an eye out,” Klous said, standing outside of a gaping hole in the side of the rusted shuttle.
Ling ducked under a sagging metal strut and stepped inside. He paused to let his eyes adjust, taking in both the total chaos the crash had caused as well as the way that Vitalis was staking its claim on the shuttle. Grass and small wiry plants were growing throughout, some even sprouting from metal surfaces. He shook his head and turned to the smashed cockpit, hoping he could at least find wiring and circuit boards he could use.
“Klous, I don’t think we’re going to find anything we can use,” Ling called out after several minutes later. He’d wrenched aside panels and pulled out multiple bundles of wires. In nearly every case they’d fallen apart in his hands or proven to be damaged beyond repair. Once a large bug that looked like a beetle with a stinger had tried to sting him. He jerked his hand back just in time then crushed the bug with one of the metal plates. The plate snapped in pieces as it hit, but the bug was nothing more than a smear and a memory.
Movement behind him in the bay of the wrecked shuttle made him sigh and turn around. He prepared to explain to Klous the rubbish he’d found and why it wasn’t viable. Instead he saw one of the four legged spitters entering the open aft of the shuttle. It looked up at him, it’s dripping mandibles opening wide.
Ling spun around, his heart hammering so loud in his chest he was sure either it would burst or his ribs would crack. Something splashed against the crumbling bulkhead behind him. He looked up through what remained of the shattered viewports of the cockpit and jumped towards them. His legs scraped against broken metal as he tried to escape the deathtrap. The metal plating was so weak it shattered against his skin. He left bloodstains behind but escaped the ruined shuttlecraft with nothing more than flesh wounds.
“Come on!” Klous hissed, grabbing him by the vest he wore and trying to yank him upright. Ling lurched to his feet, falling twice in his haste, and then saw there were several more spitters fanning out around the shuttle as they approached them.
A harsh cry drew their attention. The spitter furthest on the left shuddered and collapsed, an arrow transfixed in its head. Covered only in painted bands of colored mud, Kira paused and loosed another arrow, then sped towards them while she fitted a third arrow to her bow. The second arrow cut into the stubby neck of the next spitter, making it growl angrily and turn to find the source of its pain.
Ling needed no more urging. He ran, having no clue how narrowly he avoid two streams of venomous spittle that were sent his way. Klous scrambled after him, sprinting with all of his might. They were so badly outnumbered it didn’t matter who was the slowest, they had to outrun the nightmares behind them.
“Go!” Kira shouted, sending another arrow into the shoulder of the spitter she’d hit in the neck. Both men ran behind her with the spitters giving chase.
They seemed faster than before, catching up to Kira by the time she’d fired her fourth arrow. She succeeded in killing the second spitter but four more were coming for her. She dodged two streams of spittle then tossed her bow at the one leading the charge. Her spear met it after the spitter smashed the bow aside with its head, cutting a deep gash across its shoulder before she yanked the weapon back.
“We’ve got to help her,” Ling managed between gasps for air. He and Klous had stopped to watch the battle. As te
rrified as Ling was he couldn’t let Kira sacrifice herself for them.
Klous slipped his bow off and fitted an arrow to it. Ling nodded and reached for his own weapon, only to find it missing. He looked around, confused, and remembered laying it on the floor of the shuttle cockpit while he was trying to gather usable parts. His spear was in there too, leaving him defenseless and useless.
Klous’es arrow missed badly, drawing a sharp glance from Kira. “Run!” She snapped, leaping away from the lethal mandibles of another spitter. She kicked it in the side of the head and slammed her spear into the head a third one. The crystal glowed brighter through the ichor coating it when she wrenched it free.
“Come on,” Klous said, lowering his bow.
“We can’t leave her!”
“Kira can do things you and I can’t even dream about,” Klous shouted at him. “There are more of those things coming, we’re leaving now or we’re not getting away!”
Ling followed Klous’s gesture and saw more of the carnivorous creatures emerging from the taller grasses at the base of the hill. “Kira!” Ling cried out to her, “Hurry!”
Ling turned back and saw Klous was already running. Ling took off after him, imagining a horde of spitters snapping at his heels. His long legged stride allowed him to pass Klous in no time, his earlier exhaustion forgotten. His back was on fire, had one of them hit him with their spittle? He gasped, ripped at the laces holding his vest on. He yanked it off and let it fall to the ground as he ran.
Ling didn’t stop until he ran past Klous. Klous was standing at the base of a trail that would take them to a pass over the ridge. Looking back they saw Kira still fighting, though she was nearly surrounded. She disappeared for a moment, causing Ling to hold his breath, then she’d rear up again. Sometimes she even leapt into the air over or between her opponents. Her dance of death left them both speechless. The crystal tip of her spear grew brighter and brighter until it rivaled the rising sun.
She was running towards them then, her path through the bushes almost random. She reached them a few moments later, breathing hard and stumbling to one knee. She jammed her spear into the ground and pulled herself up, a fire in her eyes that matched the intensity of her crystal.
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