When he became tired of watching his brother mourn, he sought out the one true friend he had. If he had been suitably equipped, he probably would have married her. Their bodies were incompatible and made a union impossible. He found her distraught after learning of his death and it broke his heart. He swooped down to comfort her and that’s when it happened. He fell into her body and got stuck there. All of a sudden all of the emotions that she ever had experienced, every memory she held, flashed into his mind. Everything that made her who she was, became a part of him. He felt her gentleness and the qualities that he admired most about her sink into his consciousness and take root there. When he went to move his hand, hers moved. Her body reacted to his impulses. He studied the hand before him clenching and releasing his fist. This couldn’t be…
He went quickly to the water basin on the washstand and looked at his reflection on the surface of the still water. The girl that he went to comfort was not there anymore. The bright eyes he loved to look into were now changed. They were replaced with the large dark black irises that he and his brother shared. He pushed the table away with her hands and the metal bowl crashed down on the floor spilling water over her feet, now his feet. What had he done?
Not knowing what to do or how to handle this, he ran as quickly as he could to his brother. His brother would figure out what to do. When he got there, his brother was holding his former dead body close to his chest while still crying out. The native people were surrounding him now. The parents of his host’s body looked upon their daughter. When they saw her eyes, they looked at each other in horror. They approached him as he stood there in her body, seeing them with his eyes. He watched the girl’s father raised his hand and slap him hard across her face.
“Demon!” he yelled out in his native tongue. The others soon followed. They all began to chant, “Demon!”
Gatton looked up at him and their eyes met. He must have immediately seen his brother behind those eyes. He dropped the lifeless body that once contained him and went to stand before him in Leela’s body.
Over his shoulder, he asked, “What is going on?”
In her voice, he heard himself say, “I don’t know. I went to comfort her and I sort of…Stepped into her. Now, I can’t step out. I am stuck in here.”
“Uphir, I killed you! That is impossible!” Gatton said as he slowly stepped away from the angry crowd that was beginning to amass in front of them.
“You don’t think that I already know that!” Uphir watched over his brother’s shoulder as the crowd started to close in on them. “This isn’t good brother. What should we do?”
“Run!” Gatton yelled. Uphir and Gatton ran as fast as they could into the wilderness, to the cave where their father left them to hide and took refuge there for a while. Both of them sat in the cave for days just trying to understand what happened. Uphir told his brother everything that occurred when he fell into her body. How her memories and thoughts became his. He could still hear Leela’s voice in the back of his mind screaming at the top of her awareness for him to get out of her body. She wanted her body back. She cried, repeating that she wanted to go home. She wanted to live and return to her family. It took some time, but he finally figured out how to quiet her thoughts. It took determination to close her off so that he couldn’t hear her speak to him anymore.
Many days later they ventured out of the cave and walked further away from the home that they once knew. They walked and camped out for weeks to months losing track of days as they crossed the expansive forest eventually coming to an ocean. Near the beach, they found a spacecraft with a ramp left down. It was a craft similar to the one that his father used to bring them here. Several people were wandering around the ship sifting through the sand and collecting plants and other living creatures carefully putting them into pots and cages.
Gatton pulled Uphir over to him and said, “I have an idea. You need to kill me.” He placed the hilt of a knife in Uphir’s hand positioned the tip of the blade to rest on his chest just under his sternum.
“Brother, we have no idea how this works. Even if I kill you, we don’t know the first thing about how to fly that craft.”
“Uphir, we can continue walking around for eons waiting to die here or we can take this chance. You said yourself that all of Leela’s memories became yours, right? We have to take a chance brother. We have to get off this planet.” When Uphir’s azure hands went limp, Gatton helped push the tip of the knife further into his chest himself to help him get started. Uphir saw the blood as it began to pool around the tip of the blade.
Uphir took a deep breath with hands shaking and tried to push the blade in further. He shook his head and said, “I can’t do it. I just can’t do it.” He cried with tears blurring his vision.
Gatton looked directly into his brother’s eyes with disgust. “This is why I killed you. You are weak brother. I am ashamed that I am even related to you. You make me sick.”
Uphir felt the heat of his hate rise and a blank look settle across his face. He took the handle of the blade in hand, placing his other hand at the base. Swiftly, he shoved the knife upwards until he could feel the contractions of Gatton’s heart pulsing through the hilt. He caught Gatton as he started to collapse to the ground and sat his body up against the nearest tree. Gatton whispered triumphantly, “I knew I could make you do it.”
Uphir knew he had been played. He pulled the knife from his brother’s chest. His blue hands were shaking violently, covered with his brother’s dark red blood. He dropped the knife at his feet, wanting to distance himself from the death that it brought. Gatton’s spirit left the body on the ground. Uphir watched in bewilderment as his brother’s eyes changed from the large searing blackness they once were, to the same bright green-blue that he remembered from his mother. This sparked the memory of his mother. He remembered her tenderness and wondered, but mostly doubted, that any of that compassion existed in his brother.
He grasped onto the nearest tree to keep him standing. He felt the sickness build and he vomited until nothing was left but dry heaves. When he became aware of his surrounding again, he heard the sound of fighting in the distance. He abandoned his brother’s body and looked out to where the ship was parked. A pulsar gun fired several times and there were three dead men on the beach. He heard someone yell out his name, “Uphir, we’ve done it. Now, let’s get out of here!” The man laughed loudly as he walked up the ramp of the ship. Uphir took one last look at the body that had his mother’s eyes, and then joined his brother on the ship.
“You were right! I have all of this guy’s memories and I know exactly how to fly this ship. This is remarkable!” Gatton said as he pushed Uphir’s body into one of the seats and buckled the harness. “Why are you so glum brother? We are finally going to get off this planet. As soon as we get a chance, we are going to get you a better body. One that isn’t crying and overcome with emotion all the time. Brother, from this point forward, I forbid you from ever entering the body of a woman when you die.” He laughed loudly.
He pressed a number of lit buttons on the console after he strapped himself in and Uphir felt the ship shoot up through the atmosphere and into the darkness of space. As soon as they docked with the mothership they acted like they were bringing Leela to the ship’s Hospital bay. Gatton then killed Uphir in the medical ward and Uphir took that opportunity to move into a male Doctor’s body. Everything that the doctor had ever seen or experienced started flooding into him all at once. It was such a rush to gain intelligence in an instant. He was glad that he didn’t have to look at Leela’s face or bloodied hands anymore. Using the doctor’s memories, Uphir brought Gatton near the bridge and killed him. As the crew carried on with their duties, Gatton’s spirit floated out and inhabited the captain of the ship. That was just the beginning of how their lives would change and evolve. So many memories, so many lifetimes.
Gatton’s hold on the body he possessed was weakening. The signs were all around him. He had told Uphir recently that he could feel
that this particular possession was about to end. Soon they would be looking to inhabit other leaders and search for yet another civilization to destroy. Why? Because God, The Most High, whatever he went by these days took everything from them. God locked his father away in the abyss for 3000 years for falling in love with his human mother. Now, Uphir’s mother was gone and he was doomed to spend an eternity serving his brother. Would there ever be an end to this life? Would he ever find a peaceful death? Only time would tell.
Chapter 13
Carel parked his vehicle in front of the warehouse and rapped a code on the door with his knuckles. The slit near eye level opened and he saw golden eyes looking back at him. Rog’s mate Araime looked at him through the hole. Her eyes lit up when she recognized him. The metal cover slid shut and he could hear several locks on the door being disengaged. The metal door opened and Araime opened her arms to him. He walked over to her giving her a big hug. She was a short woman with long golden hair to match her eyes.
“Carel. It is so good to see you.”
“How are things going here?” Carel asked.
“More and more people are seeking refuge. This warehouse is full of people ready to fight for freedom. I only hope it isn’t too late to save the planet.” Araime stepped away and pushed a button on the wall. A big door opened and she said, “Can you pull your hovercraft inside.”
“Alright. Can you let Rog know I want to see him?” She nodded at him and went to go get her mate. Araime was a great organizer. Carel was of the opinion that there was nothing that this woman could not do. She helped Rog coordinate supplies for the rebel forces. Already she had an underground network for the trading of goods to keep everyone fed and clothed. She found people among the rebels who could search for and stockpile weapons. She set up a system for working the kitchens, childcare, and military training. Every healthy male and female adult were required to fight. They were all subject to survival training with Garrett and would all participate when the time came for war.
He parked the vehicle in the bay that was near Rog’s development laboratory. He had no doubt Rog had some new device to install on it. Many of the devices Rog had installed, like the signal jammer, had worked well for him. He pulled his bag out of the back and jumped out, shoving his keys in his pants pocket.
“Long time no see stranger.” Rog’s deep voice resonated through the room.
“Any news? I’ve been waiting on pins and needles to see if they made it.” Carel said reaching out a hand to clasp his forearm in greeting.
“Yes, lots actually. First, Zirlo made it to Theron and contacted your parents yesterday. Second, your parents are now exchanging messages with him that are sent back to me undetected. By the way, your parents want you to communicate with them as soon as you can. Did you have any trouble getting here?” Rog went over to the car to inspect it. It was almost as if he was looking for any evidence of miniscule damage.
“I had a tail on my way here and it took me a while to lose him. I messaged my mom several days ago to let them know that I would not be traveling to see them. The plans we made before now have changed because I need to be back in three days. You see, Jenaya isn’t safe. We really need to plan an offense to free these people fast. Jenaya is caring for one of the Theron women who is very ill,” Carel said.
“Who’s this Jenaya?” Araime asked as she entered the room. She looped her hand around Rog’s elbow and leaned her head on his muscular arm.
“She is the doctor that was stationed on board a Theron ship that was delivered to the prison camp the same day that Zirlo and Lars escaped. Most of her shipmates are getting sick due to the poor sanitary conditions there. I recently was offered some food there when I was helping Jenaya prepare the evidence of the dead prisoners. I can’t believe they actually have to eat that stuff.”
“Wait,” Rog interrupted. “Evidence of dead prisoners?”
“It is a really long story Rog and I would be happy to tell you all about it over dinner,” Carel said.
Araime smiled, “Come with me boys. I will fix you something to eat in the kitchen and then Carel can fill us in.” She walked over to Carel’s side and took his arm, “I want to hear more about this Jenaya? Is she pretty?”
“Araime, you can’t even imagine,” Carel said as they made their way to the kitchen. “She has these teal colored eyes that are the same color of our oceans before Gatton polluted them.”
The kitchen was behind a cafeteria style counter with several clean containers that would hold hot water to keep the food warm. The counter trays were neatly stacked near the start of the line along with silverware clean and sorted by type in canisters. Araime went into a large double door refrigerator and began to pull out leftovers. She scooped out some onto a plate for Carel and warmed it in the oven. Rog led Carel to one of the many metal tables that were evenly spaced across the room. It had been awhile since he had been here. When he had left the last time there was no need for a space of this size.
“How many people are living here?” Carel asked.
“Right now we have close to 150 people who live in the newly built dorms inside the warehouse. Others come from the nearby towns just to eat and take part in the training. Araime has worked out a schedule to feed everyone. We, usually, serve the people one cooked meal a day. Sometimes we serve dry cereal or bread in the morning if we can get it. Believe it or not, this is more food than they were getting to eat before she organized this kitchen. It’s also a really a helpful tool for organizing the resistance. The more people we see starved by Gatton, the more people will come into this kitchen and hear us talk about overthrowing the current government. Araime has been amazing.” Carel saw Rog admire his wife lovingly.
“Wow. I had no idea that it had gotten that bad here. I was only gone for several months. You are right Rog.” He smiled at Araime. “You’re a lucky man.”
Araime came and placed a plate of food in front of Carel. Carel filled them in on everything that had happened over the last week. It was moving so fast now that Lars and Zirlo’s escape went so smoothly. Rog couldn’t believe that Carel had actually dug up a dead Theron man for evidence and wanted to know more about Gatton’s creepy eyes. They tossed around theories about what condition would cause this to happen.
“Araime, before I forget. I need you to get me several items.” He took a list out of his pocket and handed to her. She read the list.
“Carel,” she said with a note of worry in her voice. “I won’t have any trouble with a few of these items but some of them may be hard for even me to come by.”
“I have faith in you Araime. If anyone can get this stuff, you can.” He patted her on the shoulder.
She spent several minutes looking over the list. “What is this?” she pointed to one of the words on the list.
“It’s some medicine for the sickly woman I told you about. She has these horrible disfiguring lumps on her face and neck. Jenaya thinks that this might keep her alive until help arrives. Are there any doctors in the resistance you could speak to?”
“I think that I may have one contact that might be able to help me. I’ll go message him now.”
“Thanks, Araime.” Carel and Rog watched as Araime left the room.
Rog and Carel picked up the dishes, put them in the dishwasher, and pressed the button to start the run. The sound of the water rushing through the tubing hummed in the background echoing in the large room.
He looked over to Rog. “Show me the messages we have received up to now. I think that maybe should speak to my parents as well.”
They walked together into the command center of the rebel house. Many monitors covered the walls with maps and intercepted probe images of suspected prison camps. They each took a seat around a terminal with computer access. Rog moved his fingers swiftly over the surface of the table keypad. “This coded message was received several days ago. It was a simple substitution code. I took the liberty of decoding it for you.
ARRIVED COUNCIL MEETING TOMORROW
“I have also had word that the members of the intergalactic council will meet with Zirlo via teleconference. All active leaders will be allowed to sit in the meeting. I have put in a petition to listen as well. I haven’t gotten a response to my request. So, I contacted Kurtz to see if he could get us access.” Rog said as he pulled several messages off the screen.
“Open a transmission to my parents. I need to let them know I made it here alright.” Carel said.
“Sure thing boss.” Rog’s fingers flew across the keypad to enable the software to encrypt and bounce the signal off several satellites in the galaxy so that it could not be traced. In the few minutes it took Rog to get his parents, Carel looked over all the documented chatter surrounding the resistance. He noted the increase in support and saw that obtaining goods became easier with more people involved in the effort. He found out that Rog and Araime spent almost all of their time here now. It was a big place with many rooms and it had many hidden bunkers underground where most of the homeless happened to be sleeping right now. He almost couldn’t wait until morning to see all the people walking around this large place.
“Carel!” He had heard Anton’s voice before the fuzzy image of his father appeared on the largest screen surrounded by the many other smaller monitors.”
The Theron Residency (Brides of Theron Book 4) Page 19